A Wanderer's Destiny
by Dark Jedi Princess
Summary: Edward and Alphonse Elric are two of the most renowned smugglers in the galaxy. They’re about to get tangled up in more than they can handle, however, when a smuggling run from the Unknown Regions goes awry…SWKotOR1&2 & FMA 8 Feb.: Finished!
1. Prologue: The Scrolling Text

**Disclaimer:**_ Full Metal Alchemist_/_Hagane no Rekinjutsushi_ belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. _Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic_ belongs to LucasArts, BioWare, and Obsidian Entertainment. Own nothing except the slightly warped plot. :)

**Author's Note:** Good God, me and my crossovers. o.O;;; Well, it looks like I've got another one for you all. _Full Metal Alchemist/SWKotOR _this time. Awesome game, if you haven't played it, GO PLAY. NOW. –gives you the Evil Eye- IT WILL EAT YOUR SOUL. …Kidding. But anyway, while this is a Star Wars-ificated version of the FMA plot, I've added a few of my own twists and turns to it. If you can catch my little references to the original series, you get a Sith Cookie! –waves jar of DSCookies around- Hope y'all enjoy. Don't forget to review (no flames, but constructive crits are welcome. I shan't have a problem from the lovely people at KFM, but FF.N is a different issue.). Have fun!  
**:Dark Jedi Princess:**

**QUOTES**  
"Normal"  
"RAISED VOLUME VOLUME"  
"_Over a comm. unit, alien language, dialogue in flashbacks, etc._"  
_Thoughts/Flashbacks/Ship names_  
Stressed/Emphasized Words  
**Written Words**

**Title:** "A Wanderer's Destiny"  
**Author:** Dark Jedi Princess  
**Category (for FF.N): **Crossovers/Game - Star Wars (NOT Movie Star Wars)/Full Metal Alchemist  
******Category (For KotORFanMedia): **KotOR 1/Revan/Female Revan/Light Side Female Revan/Other K1 Characters/KotOR 2/Exile/Female Exile/Light Side Female Exile/Other K2 Characters/Angst & Drama/Comedies & Parodies/Alternate Universe  
**********Genre:**Drama/Science Fiction/Fantasy/Humour  
**********Rating:**PG-13/T  
**********Reasons:**Star Wars-y language, violence  
**********Summary:**Edward and Alphonse Elric are two of the most renowned smugglers in the galaxy. They're about to get tangled up in more than they can handle, however, when a smuggling run from the Unknown Regions goes awry…

_******A Wanderer's Destiny**__**********  
Prologue**_

It has been nearly a decade since the end of the Jedi Civil War. Wounded tremendously by DARTH MALAK's forces during the war, the Republic still struggles to its feet in the wake of the terrible conflict.

Led by the Jedi Master BASQUE GRAND, the Jedi Order has been slowly rebuilding as well, having nearly been shattered by the evil SITH. They are constantly seeking new talent to bolster their ranks. Not to be outdone, the Sith are doing much the same in an attempt to steal Force Adepts away from the Jedi.

Unconcerned with the religious and political movements of the galaxy, the famed smugglers EDWARD and ALPHONSE ELRIC are on their way to Nar Shaadda, unaware of the fate that awaits them…


	2. Chapter 1: Trisha's Curse

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 1: Trisha's Curse**_

"Brother! BROTHER!"

Edward Elric grunted and rolled over in his bunk, ignoring his brother's shouts. Alphonse rushed into the dormitory, sighing exasperatedly at the sleeping Edward.

"Ed, you lazy bum! GET UP!" He kicked the side of Edward's bunk, prompting a low growl from his older brother as Edward turn to face him, propped up on one elbow.

"What's the rush, Al? I'm trying to sleep!"

"Our E.T.A. to Nar Shaadda is two standard hours, and we've got work to do! You've been asleep for the past eleven hours! GET! UP!" Alphonse's eyes literally flashed. Edward gulped.

"Okay, okay, I'm up…" He slid out of bed, revealing his robotic right arm and left leg, and stretched. Alphonse left, probably headed to the cockpit. Yawning, Edward made a beeline for the Refresher, intending to shower before he got to work.

_Trisha's Curse_ was the name of the Elric Brothers's stock freighter. They had named the ship for their beloved mother, Trisha Elric, who had died when they were still young. Their father, Hohenheim, had rarely been around, especially after the Mandalorian Wars started. Desperate to support themselves, the two young brothers had take up smuggling in order to survive.

It had been Edward's idea to start smuggling. He had known full well that Trisha would not have approved of such a career, but had felt it was the only way for them to survive. Besides, he considered all the other options far too boring and simplistic. Smuggling was much more fun and exciting.

The Elric brothers were both rather scrawny, although Alphonse had always been slightly taller than Edward and a little bulkier. Edward was very well-built, however, mostly from having to lug around his robotic limbs, which were made of a Cortosis alloy. Just in case he ran into any Jedi on the job. Both brothers kept their hair long. Alphonse's hair was a darker blond than Edward's, and he kept it tied back in a ponytail. Edward always braided his. Edward's eyes were golden yellow, filled with fierce determination. Alphonse's, when not gleaming angrily, were brown.

Edward finished his shower, towelled his hair dry, and carefully braided it before dressing and heading into the cargo hold to check on their cargo. After ensuring that everything was in its place, he headed for the cockpit.

"How long was I in the shower?" He asked, sitting down in one of the two pilot's seats.

"Fifteen minutes," Alphonse answered, not looking at Edward. "Awake yet?"

"Mostly, yeah." Edward sighed. "Gah, hyperspace is so boring."

"You were the one who accepted the job in the Unknown Regions."

"I know. But hey, it was interesting, wasn't it? Unexplored space always is."

The ship abruptly lurched, knocking Edward face-first into the controls. "What the Hell was that!"

"We've been interdicted," Alphonse said, calmly.

"Sithspit! How can you be so fracking calm!" Edward sat back down and seized the controls, fully intending to flee from whatever ship, Republic or Sith, that had interdicted them. "Let's get outta here!"

The ship lurched again, and the engines strained as they fought to counteract the pull of a tractor beam.

"Lovely," Edward sighed. "C'mon, Al. If they find our cargo, we're done for." He rushed out of the cockpit and into the cargo hold, closely followed by Alphonse. Edward kicked open one of the many secret compartments in the floor and dragged a crate over to it. Working together, it only took a few minutes to hide all their cargo. Edward seized a heavy blaster and vibrosword, then turned to Alphonse.

"Al, hide somewhere else on the ship! They won't be able to find you, so you can bail me out if I fail to talk my way out of this."

"But, brother—!"

"Do it, Al!"

Alphonse ran out of the cargo hold, and Edward sealed the door behind him. He sat on top of an empty plasteel cylinder, toying with his blaster. The sounds of several soldiers board the ship reached his ears. Taking in a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes at the door, waiting for the soldiers to either come or leave.

"There's someone in here," A deep voice said. "You two! Come with me! The rest of you, search the ship, and do an infrared scan in case anyone's got stealth field generators. Bring anyone you find to me."

A banging sounded against the door, followed by someone fiddling with the lock.

"It's locked, sir."

"Well, use a security spike!"

More sounds of fiddling with the lock, then the door slid open, revealing a tall man with short black hair and dark eyes. He was flanked by a pair of Republic soldiers. Edward levelled his blaster at them but didn't shoot. The soldiers started to react, but the black-haired man threw a hand out to stop them.

"Well, well," he said. "When Admiral Onasi told us to stop your ship, we had no idea it was the Elric Brothers's ship. Where's your brother?"

"Not here," Edward growled. "Get out."

"Hostile, aren't we? Admiral Onasi wants to talk to you."

"Your Admiral can go to Hell."

"Oooh, not friendly," the man said. He pushed aside one side of his coat, revealing a silvery, long cylinder clipped to his belt. "Let's not put up a resistance, now…"

_Frack. Jedi._ Edward dropped his blaster, knowing it would be useless against a lightsaber, and fingered a switch near the elbow of his mechanical arm. A blade jutted out of his arm. "Get. Out," he snarled, getting to his feet and slowly approaching the Jedi.

"Colonel Mustang!" One of the soldiers levelled his blaster rifle at Edward.

"I can handle him," Colonel Mustang said. Edward abruptly found himself pressed against the wall by an invisible force. Colonel Mustang approached him, smirking.

Edward grunted. "Rather… ungh… arrogant for a Jedi, aren't you?"

"Arrogant? Ouch," Colonel Mustang laughed. "So, you're Edward Elric. Where's Alphonse?"

"No clue. If you hurt him, you'll regret it."

"Was that a threat, Ed?"

"No. If you hurt him, he'll make you regret it."

Colonel Mustang frowned. Edward suddenly felt a foreign presence in his mind, and promptly concentrated on the image of a ferrocrete wall. Mustang's expression changed to mild shock. "Well done. I don't know many ordinary people who can throw up mental barriers like that."

"I had a good teacher."

"Then I'll give you another chance. Tell me where your brother is."

"I already told you, I don't know." Which was true. He'd told Alphonse to hide, but he didn't know where he was hiding.

Mustang frowned again. "Your loss. You two, remove his cybernetic arm and take him to the _Sojourn_'s brig."

"Sir!"

Mustang turned to the entrance of the hold. "What is it, Hawkeye?" he said to a blond woman with red eyes in an officer's uniform, with a Lieutenant's rank pips.

"There's no-one else on board, sir."

"Are you certain, Lieutenant? Did you check the escape pods?"

"There were only two, sir, and they're both in their berths. No heat signatures were detected either."

"Do another sweep. Report back to me when you're done."

"Yessir!" Lieutenant Hawkeye saluted and left. Mustang turned back to Edward.

"Now, Ed… as I said, Admiral Onasi would like to have a word with you regarding your recent trip to the Unknown Regions."

Edward snarled as the two soldiers removed his mechanical arm from the metal socket grafted to his shoulder. When they were finished, the invisible force holding him against the wall dissipated, and he slid to the ground. One of the soldiers hoisted him to his feet.

"Take him to the brig. Don't try anything funny, Elric." Mustang said.

"Yessir!" The soldiers walked off with Edward in tow. Edward silently prayed that Alphonse had continued to avoid detection.

* * *

**A/N:** Many thanks to my beta-reader for this story, Damos Taranth. :)  



	3. Chapter 2: Escape from the Sojourn, Pt 1

**_A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 2: Escape from the Sojourn, Part 1_**

"Colonel Mustang told us to do another sweep," a sharp woman's voice said. "You two check the Medical room. You two! Head for the cockpit! You! Engine room! You! Dormitories! Go!"

Alphonse's eyes darted around the room as a pair of soldiers entered the medical room with an infrared scanner. He was currently pressed against the ceiling, his hands and feet angled so they were flat against the wall. He wore an active stealth field generator over his belt in case the soldiers decided to look up.

Which, of course, one of them did. Alphonse met his eyes for a brief moment before the soldier turned back to his comrade. "Let's go, there's no-one in here." His comrade nodded, finished the infrared scan, and they left. Alphonse remained where he was until he heard all of the soldiers leave the ship. When they were gone, he let out a sigh of relief and dropped to the ground.

"Now to get Ed out of trouble… again."

* * *

Edward sat in a cell in the brig, staring down at the loose right sleeve of his red coat. "Sithspit," he muttered. "Word gets out about this, and we're done for." 

A shadow appeared in front of the force field, which deactivated. Edward looked up. A middle-aged man stood in the entrance, his wild brown hair slicked back, with a few stubborn strands hanging loose over his eyes. He looked haggard and worn, as if something was weighing him down. His brown eyes were tired, but still had a slightly fanatical gleam to them.

"Hmm, judging by the gold braid on that uniform, you're Admiral Onasi," Edward observed.

"Yeah. Admiral Carth Onasi. You're Edward Elric, the smuggler."

"Good guess. No offense, but you look like Hell, man."

"There's a good reason for that, I'm wondering, though, why someone as young as you are decided to take up smuggling. Was it for the thrill?"

"No, not really. We needed to survive somehow."

"There were plenty of other things you could've done. Legal things."

"…Okay, partially for the thrill."

Admiral Onasi laughed. "One more thing. You recently returned from a trip to the Unknown Regions… did you see any signs of a woman named Revan?"

"Revan?" Edward lifted his head. "Oh, so that's it, is it? You poor man… In love with the former Dark Lord of the Sith." He laughed. "Sorry, Admiral, I can't help you. I don't even know what she looks like."

"Long, wavy black hair and blue eyes. Likes to wear black, blue, and violet. She probably would've had a red-haired woman with green eyes and Jedi robes with her."

"No, sorry. Didn't see either one. Who was the red-head?"

"She was one of the Jedi who followed Revan to the Mandalorian Wars. …I think her name is… Charisma? Most people call her 'Exile'. She probably knew your father."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about my dad?"

"He was fairly well-known in the fleet during the Mandalorian Wars. I've only met him twice, once during the War and again just before Revan left for the Unknown Regions. He was… very loyal to her. He followed her to the Dark Side, then, when she turned back to the Light, he did his best to do so too."

"I never knew him that well. Not sure I want to either…"

Admiral Onasi shrugged. "So no sign of Revan on your trip?"

"None. Sorry to disappoint you. But tell me this, and we'll have a fair trade… Why did you fall in love with her?"

Admiral Onasi fell silent for a moment. "If you'd known her ten years ago…" He laughed. "She was so kind, and she helped so many people. When she found out who she really was, she was devastated."

"Amnesia, huh? I heard rumours about that."

"She was a changed person," Admiral Onasi continued. "That was who I fell in love with."

"How long has she been gone?"

"Nine years."

Edward laughed. "Hate to break it to ya, but she's probably dead."

"NO!"

Edward jumped, startled. Admiral Onasi had slammed a fist into the cell wall.

"She can't be dead. I'd know it if she was."

"Whatever you say."

Admiral Onasi turned away. "You might want to think about joining the Jedi Order. Since your father was a Jedi and all. They'll take anyone they can get right now, young or old."

"No can do. I hate the Jedi. Religious bigots, the good majority of them."

"Your loss. I'll consider exempting you from punishment for smuggling. Because you're so young."

"Huh? We didn't have any illegal cargo," Edward said, innocently.

"Nice try. Mustang found several crates of red spice and glitterstim in secret compartments in your cargo hold."

"Frack."

"You're young, Mr. Elric. I'd hate to see your life ruined by this."

"What do you want?"

"I'll think about it for a bit. You can stay here in the meantime."

"Can I at least have my prosthetic back? It's very awkward sitting here with one arm."

"Sorry. Not when you could attack something with it."

Edward scowled as Admiral Onasi stepped out of the cell and raised the force field again. "I'll be back." He left.

Edward sighed. "Hurry up, Al…"

* * *

By the time Admiral Onasi had left Edward in his cell, Alphonse hand managed to find his way to the brig level from the hangar. Though he had a stealth field generator on, he had avoided using the main corridors, and instead had navigated the ventilation shafts. He kicked open a vent near the row of cells Edward was in and dropped to the ground, searching around for the nearest door. 

"Come on," he hissed. He spotted a door a few meters to his left and inched over to it, removing a blaster from within his knee-length black coat and holding it at the ready as he opened the door. He shot the tech on the other side of the door, then the security camera in the corner of the room, and hurried over to the nearest terminal. His stealth field had dropped when he had shot the tech, so he had to work quickly before he was found. Working as fast as he could, he sliced into the terminal and began to disable the cell security fields…

* * *

"Sir!" Hawkeye called to Colonel Mustang as she observed something on the screen before her. 

"What is it, Hawkeye?" Mustang responded, walking over to her.

"Someone's trying to break Elric out of his cell using the brig terminal."

"Who?"

"Don't know. The camera in the computer room on that level has shorted out."

"Do an infrared scan."

Hawkeye did. "Nothing." She turned to another camera, this one out in the hallway in front of the row of cells Edward was being held in. The force shields had been deactivated, and Edward dashed out of his cell. A young man with longish, dark blond hair tied back into a ponytail ran to meet him. Mustang's eyes narrowed.

"Do another scan on the hallway by the cells," he said, slowly.

Hawkeye did. Her eyes widened as she compared it to the visual.

The only heat signature in the hallway was Edward's.

"Sithspit," Mustang swore. He seized a comlink. "Admiral Onasi! This is Roy Mustang!"

"_Go ahead, Colonel_."

"Edward's brother has broken him out of his cell."

There was a pause, then, "_How did he evade your scan of their ship_?"

"Sir… I think Alphonse is a droid."


	4. Chapter 3: Escape from the Sojourn, Pt 2

**A/N:** Sith cookies to anyone who can catch the reference to the original _Full Metal Alchemist_ in this chapter!

**_A Wanderer's Destiny_****_  
Chapter 3: Escape from the Sojourn, Part 2_**

"Sir… I think Alphonse is a droid."

There was a moment of shocked silence. "_You'd better not be yanking my chain, Mustang._"

"This is no joke, sir. He's got no body heat." He paused, watching the screen. "Sir, it looks like they're about to split up. If we don't do something they're going to get away."

"_I'll take care of it, Colonel._"

In his office, Admiral Onasi adjusted the frequency of his comlink, then said, "Malak. Come in."

There was a moment of silence.

"Malak," Admiral Onasi snarled, "if you're asleep, I swear—"

"_I'm awake, Admiral. What do you want?_"

"The smuggler we captured has escaped."

"…_I think I'm insulted._"

"Malak, he's Hohenheim Elric's son."

"_…Seriously?_"

"Yeah."

"_Where is he?_"

Admiral Onasi watched a screen in front of him as Edward retrieved his weapons and arm, reattached the latter to his shoulder, then ran back over to his brother. Alphonse clasped his fingers and held out his hands, palms up. Edward put his right foot on his brother's hands, then grabbed onto the edge of a vent as Alphonse vaulted him upwards. He slithered into the ventilation shaft while Alphonse ran off towards the nearest lift.

"He's in the ventilation shafts."

Malak swore. "_I'll meet him at the hangar_."

* * *

Edward carefully crawled through the ventilation shafts of the _Sojourn_, trying not to make too much noise as he moved. The hangars were on the level below the brig, he knew that much about the layout of Republic warships. Alphonse was a more capable fighter than Edward was, so he had chosen to take the main corridors while Edward took the vents. 

He found a vertical shaft in the floor and dropped down it, landing solidly in a crouched position. He continued through the network of shafts, occasionally peering out of vents until he saw _Trisha's Curse_.

And he did find her, in the sixth hangar he checked. Carefully, he shifted his position so that he was crouched instead of on his belly, then kicked open the vent and dropped into the hangar.

A _snap-hiss_ met his ears, and he turned to face a tall, bald man with gray-blue tattoos on his head, and dressed in black, red, and silver armour. His lightsaber was longer than most and a bright orange colour.

"Frack," he said, pressing the switch on the side of his arm, the blade jutting out of his sleeve. The man advanced on him. "Who knew Darth Malak was working for the Republic now?"

"My sister saved me," Malak answered, softly.

"Your sister?"

"Revan."

"Revan's your sister?"

"Yes." Malak brandished his lightsaber at Edward. "Admiral Onasi was going to off you a deal. Why did you run?"

"Because if my employers find out I was captured, I'll never get another job again."

"You could give up smuggling," Malak told him. The two circled each other slowly. "Become a Jedi, like your father."

"No way in HELL!" Edward snarled. He lunged at Malak, swinging a right hook at his side. Malak deftly blocked the blow with his lightsaber, then swiped at Edward's belly. Edward dodged and retaliated with a swipe at Malak's sword arm.

"You're fast," Malak said, "I'll give you that."

"Thanks." Edward leapt into the air in a flying kick, striking Malak in the side with the knife-edge(1) of his left foot. Malak stumbled, and Edward landed and turned around deftly as he skidded against the floor. He ran and threw another right hook at his opponent. Malak fell back.

"A lot of unused potential, Elric. I'd hate to see it go to waste," Malak told him.

"I'm not joining the Jedi." Edward darted between Malak's legs and up the boarding ramp of _Trisha's Curse_.

The door to the hangar slid open to reveal Alphonse locked in combat with a brown-haired, grey-eyed woman in brown leather, with a yellow double-bladed lightsaber. Alphonse wielded a Vibrosword and was managing to block each of the woman's blows. His coat was torn in several places, from blocking blows with his arms. Flesh had been burned away to reveal complex circuitry and wiring. His eyes were flashing dangerously. It looked as though the woman was about to be overwhelmed by Alphonse.

Edward appeared at the boarding ramp again. "Al, come on!"

Alphonse sheathed his sword and tried to run past the woman, but she blocked his path. Annoyed, Alphonse seized her by the arm and flipped her onto the ground.

"Bastila!" Malak yelled. Alphonse ran past him and up the boarding ramp, which closed as he entered the ship.

Admiral Onasi ran into the hangar just as _Trisha's Curse_ took off, followed by Mustang and Hawkeye. Mustang and Hawkeye levelled their blasters at the ship, but Admiral Onasi stopped them.

"Let them go," he said.

"But sir—!"

"We'll find them again," Admiral Onasi said. Bastila stood up, groaning. "Malak, do some digging. I want to find out why and how Edward has a droid named after his brother following him around."

Malak watched _Trisha's Curse_ as it made the jump to hyperspace, then nodded and left. Mustang stared after him.

"Sir—"

Admiral Onasi shook his head. "Those boys need to learn the hard way that crime doesn't pay, in the end. They'll get themselves into something they can't handle, and they'll learn the hard way."

Mustang nodded. "I understand, sir, but… why did you send Malak and Bastila after them if you were going to let them go?"

"I wasn't going to let them go. But by the time we got here, they were already taking off. It was useless to try to stop them."

Mustang nodded.

"Oh, and Roy?" Admiral Onasi began.

"Yes sir?"

"Tell the Jedi that I don't appreciate being spied on."

Roy's face registered shock. "Sir, I wasn't sent by the Jedi Council."

"Then who sent you?" Admiral Onasi demanded.

"Revan did."

* * *

"That was a fracking disaster." 

Edward sat completely still as Alphonse cleaned up several cuts from his fight with Malak.

"I wish you'd stop cursing so much, brother," Alphonse said softly.

"Frack off."

Alphonse shook his head. Edward seized one of Alphonse's arms and examined a particular patch of burned-away artificial flesh.

"Why the Hell did you block lightsaber blows with your arms?" Edward demanded.

"You do that all the time."

"My right arm doesn't have artificial skin on it. You'll have to mend your coat and wear it at all times until we can see Winry."

Alphonse nodded. "Do you think she's doing alright, Brother?"

"She can take care of herself."

"…You're so detached, Ed."

"Thanks, I try." Edward grinned, then suddenly mellowed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Alphonse asked, shocked.

"For getting you killed on that run four years ago. And for binding your soul to a droid."

"Don't worry about it, Brother. I know why you did it. Plus, it has its perks."

"Yeah… at least I didn't bind your soul to a giant suit of armour or something."

Alphonse laughed. "At least."

Edward laid a hand on Alphonse's shoulder. "Al… we gotta stay in this together."

"I know, Brother. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Good." Edward jumped off the bed in the Medical Room and hugged Alphonse before moving off to the cargo hold. A few seconds later, he yelled.

"What's wrong, Ed?"

"They took the cargo!" Edward stormed back into the room, brandishing a note with a little face with its tongue sticking out drawn on it, signed "Mustang". "Damn that stupid…fracking…Jedi…Colonel!"

* * *

_**Footnotes:**_

**(1)**** Knife edge: **In martial arts, the outer edge of either the hand or the foot.


	5. Chapter 4: Nar Shaadda

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 4: Nar Shaadda**_

"Uh… Brother? Why are we still going to Nar Shaadda? We don't have our cargo anymore."

"Like I need to be reminded… we're going 'cause our boss will slap a bounty on our heads if we try to run."

"He'll probably do that anyway."

"Yeah… accursed Hutts." Edward sighed. "I should've anticipated this. There was no way the Republic was going to let us keep the cargo."

Alphonse nodded. "And they probably figured out about my…condition by now."

Edward sighed. "What a mess…"

* * *

Admiral Onasi had been only half-awake when the knock sounded on his door.

He lifted his head off the desk. "Who is it?"

"Malak."

"Come."

The door slid open to reveal Malak's imposing form. He entered and sealed the door behind him.

"I did some digging," he said, without preamble.

"What did you find?"

"Not much. Reported incidents on planets they ran illegal goods from. Information on their homeworld, and their family."

"Did Edward actually have a brother, or is he just pretending that droid is related to him?"

"He had a brother until four years ago."

"What happened?"

"Alphonse was killed on a botched run to Onderon. His body was found in the Merchant Quarter of Iziz by the authorities. Edward was taken into custody after losing his right arm and left leg. They found him clinging to his brother's body, almost hysterical with grief. Sometime later, he somehow escaped. Most were of the opinion that he somehow contacted someone to bail him out."

Admiral Onasi was silent for a moment. "That was four years ago?"

"Yes."

"How old were they?"

"Sixteen and seventeen."

"Which makes the elder brother… that's Edward, right?…Edward is twenty-one now."

"Yes."

"He seems a lot younger."

"Indeed."

"What happened to their mother?"

"She died when they were twelve and thirteen."

"Ouch. And Hohenheim Elric couldn't stick around to take care of them because of his duty to the Jedi."

"No. Because of his duty to Revan. He answered only to her."

"So the boys began smuggling for a living."

"Yes."

Admiral Onasi sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Man, I almost feel sorry for those two."

"What's stopping you?"

"That they chose to become smugglers."

Malak sighed and fingered a button on the holoprojector on the desk. An image of a radiant, dark-haired woman in dark robes appeared next to an image of Admiral Onasi, who looked a little younger and a lot less tired. They were both beaming, looking much happier than Malak remembered seeing the Admiral in the last few years

Admiral Onasi stared at the image for a few moments, fighting back tears. "I miss her."

"So do I."

"Why did she have to leave so suddenly?" Admiral Onasi said, quietly.

"I don't know. But when she gets back, she'll tell us why."

* * *

The meeting with their boss had not gone well. Not only had they not been paid for their work, but Edward and Alphonse narrowly avoided having a bounty put on their heads.

Now the two brothers sat in a cantina, Edward drowning his sorrow in a glass of Corellian brandy. Alphonse, for obvious reasons, wasn't drinking anything.

"Frack," Edward muttered. "We're screwed."

"I don't think so, Brother. We just won't be getting any more work from him," Alphonse stated evenly.

"That's bullshit, Al, and you know it. The Exchange won't want to employ us now that we've been caught. We've never been caught before. That's what we built our reputation on."

"I don't think we're entirely done for, though. It was just one incident."

"Yeah, sure, Al." Edward knocked back the glass of brandy and sighed. "Frack."

Alphonse sighed as well, and looked around the cantina. "Brother, look!"

"What now, Al?" Edward groaned. His mouth dropped open as he spotted the two women who had just entered the cantina. They were both trying to look plain and unremarkable, but did not seem to be doing a very good job of it.

The shorter of the two had black hair tied back in a low ponytail and blue eyes. She was dressed in dark slacks and a dark violet blouse, with a black coat pulled over that and a floppy hat covering her head. She leaned on a walking stick, and looked as though she was in a mild amount of pain.

The other was a few centimetres taller than her companion, with coppery red hair and light green eyes. Her hairstyle was rather complex: two braids trailed down either side of her neck, with a third tied up in a high ponytail with the rest of her hair. She wore light green Jedi robes, and a pair of silvery lightsaber hilts swung from her belt.

"Frack! Another Jedi!" Edward hissed.

The two women, however, did not seem to notice them. They walked straight past the two brothers, not sparing them a single glance. The dark-haired woman was limping. They sat down at a table about a meter away from Edward and Alphonse's. The two boys stared at the women for a moment before turning away as the red-head glanced at them. Edward turned towards the bartender.

"Hey, barkeep, another Corellian brandy, if you could."

"Sure thing," the bartender responded.

"You shouldn't drink, you know, it's bad for your liver," a light voice said.

Edward raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired woman, who was smirking at him beneath her hat. He retrieved his drink and sat back down. "Then what're you having, lady?"

The woman smiled. "Barkeep, a glass of water each for me and my friend here."

The bartender nodded and filled two glasses full of water. The dark-haired woman moved to get up, but the red-head pressed her back down into her seat.

"You're hurt, Adri. I'll get them, you stay put." Her voice was soprano-pitched, laced with an odd, lilting accent. (A/N: I suck royally at describing accents. Just so we're clear: it's Irish. Very, very Irish.) She stood and got the two glasses of water, setting them down at their table.

Edward laughed. "Water? You gotta be joking."

"Alcohol's bad for your liver and caffeine's bad for your heart, so no liquor or caffa for me," the dark-haired woman said, grinning.

"Say, you two look familiar to me," the red-head said. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Hohenheim Elric, would you?"

"He's our dad," Alphonse responded, automatically.

"…You're the Elric brothers? The famous smugglers?"

"That's us."

"Why the long face?" The dark-haired woman asked.

Edward shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing. What's bothering you?"

Edward eyed her suspiciously. The woman had a definite aura of power about her. He wasn't sure he could trust her, but at the moment she was just being friendly. He hesitated, then said, "We were just caught on our latest run."

"Ouch," the dark-haired woman laughed. "Sorry about that."

"Our problem, not yours." Edward took a sip of his drink. "What're your names?"

"I'm Adrian," the dark-haired woman said. "This is Charisma." She gestured to the red-head.

"Jedi friend of yours?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Adrian laughed.

"What happened to your leg?"

Adrian shook her head, waving her hand in an arbitrary gesture. "Some beastie clawed it. Must be some sort of venom in it, 'cause it's not healing. I've learned to block out the pain, though, so it doesn't bother me too much." She eyed Edward strangely. "Say," she said, abruptly. "You two have a ship, right?"

"Obviously. What of it?"

"I wonder if you'd be willing to give us a lift to Coruscant."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "There's something you're not telling me."

"Maaaaaybe," Adrian said, slyly, smiling mysteriously.

"You're gonna have to tell me what that something is if you want me to do anything for you."

Adrian shrugged, grinning. Something about the gesture told Edward, "No can do."

"Not gonna tell me? Fine. No deal." Edward got up to leave.

"I'll pay you twice what you usually charge for a typical smuggling run," Adrian said, non-chalantly.

Edward froze. "T…twice!" He turned to her. "That would be pretty hefty, Adrian. I don't think you can afford it."

"I can. Do we have a deal?"

Edward thought about it for a moment. "Deal."

"Excellent. Where's your ship?"

"Docking bay 103. Look for _Trisha's Curse_."

"Gotcha. We'll see you in a few." Adrian and Charisma stood to leave. There was the sound of a blaster cocking, and before Edward and Alphonse could react, a shot was fired towards Charisma. The familiar _snap-hiss_ of a lightsaber igniting sounded moments later.

Charisma had blocked the shot with one of her lightsabers. She wielded two: the one in her right hand was viridian, and the one in her left was silver. The assassin turned his blaster on Edward, who turned to face him with one of his own blasters in hand. Alphonse partially drew his vibrosword, ready to draw it out fully if need be.

Adrian eyed the assassin, then subtly waved her left hand. "Leave. Now. We don't want any trouble, and neither do you."

The assassin paused for a moment. "No," he hissed. He moved the blaster to Adrian and fired. Adrian closed her eyes and smirked, raising her left hand and deflecting the blaster bolt.

Edward drew out his second blaster and fired both in rapid succession at the assassin. The assassin bolted, and Alphonse moved to chase after him. Edward stopped him.

"It's not worth it, Al. Let him go. He'll get what's coming to him."

Alphonse nodded and sheathed his sword. Edward turned to Adrian.

"You're a Jedi. Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I figured you already knew," Adrian said, with a smirk. "After all, you knew Charisma was a Jedi."

"That's different. She was wearing her lightsabers in plain view. You gave me no indication that you were with the Jedi."

"Hmm, that's true, I didn't. I trust our deal is still on, though."

"Not like I have much of a choice. Meet us at Bay 103 in about an hour."

* * *

Since Edward and Alphonse had some leftover money from their last run, the restocked on supplies and spikes during the time Adrian and Charisma were getting ready. They were busy loading the cargo onto _Trisha's Curse_ when the two Jedi arrived.

"Hey," Adrian greeted cheerfully. "Are we almost ready?"

"Yeah. Mind giving us a hand here?"

"Not at all," Adrian grinned. She raised a hand and levitated one of the crates into the ship/

"Uh, thanks," Edward said. He loaded the last few crates into the cargo bay, then dusted off his gloves. "Okay, we're ready. Let's hope we don't run into the Sith."

"Shh! Don't jinx it!" Adrian said, though she was grinning. They boarded _Trisha's Curse_, Adrian and Charisma seating themselves in the main hold.

"Coruscant, right?" Edward said, removing his red coat and draping it over the back of one of the chairs.

"Yep."

"Someone there?"

"Husband. Friends," Adrian said, shrugging. "Charisma has a boyfriend there, too."

"I do not!" Charisma protested, flustered.

"Oh, come on, Chari', from what you've told me, the guy's nuts about you. And you've missed him horribly while we've been away. We were on the Outer Rim," she explained to Edward. "We basically hitch-hiked here."

"What's the guy's name?" Edward asked the still-flustered Charisma.

"Uh… Bao-Dur," Charisma said, quietly. She was blushing furiously.

"Sounds Iridionian."

"He is." Charisma glared at Adrian.

"You guys should get going, unconcerned by Charisma's fury at her.

The two brothers went into the cockpit and prepped for take-off. Charisma scowled at Adrian.

"That was personal," she growled.

Adrian grinned, and shrugged.

"You can't keep using this pseudonym, you know. It's wrong to lie to them. They're our best friend's sons."

"I know. I'll tell them when we get there," Adrian said. She leaned back and closed her eyes. Charisma sighed.

"You certainly are an enigma, Revan."


	6. Chapter 5: Izumi

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 5: Izumi**_

It was raining on Coruscant when _Trisha's Curse_ arrived at the docking bay. Edward and Alphonse set the ship down in the bay and lowered the boarding ramp. Edward sighed and stood up.

"We're finally here. Let's hope we don't run into any Republics now."

"We weren't doing anything illegal this time, Brother, we should be fine," Alphonse said.

Edward nodded. "Let's go. Yo, ladies, we're here!"

"Excellent!" He heard Adrian shout.

The brothers stepped out of the cockpit. Adrian and Charisma had already left the ship. They went out to meet them, only barely paying attention to the announcements over the loudspeakers.

"Thanks for the lift," Adrian said, smiling, as they ambled into the main waiting area. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a velvet pouch, briefly counting the credits inside before tossing the pouch to Edward. "Here," she said. "Ten thousand credits. That should be sufficient, no?"

"Oh, that'll be plenty!" Edward said, almost ecstatically. "Pleasure doing business with ya."

"_Attention: Republic cruiser _Sojourn_ is arriving at docking bay 932…_"

Edward mellowed quickly, and gulped. "Al, let's get going."

"Okay," Alphonse said nervously, having spotted a certain Admiral emerging from the next docking bay over. They turned to leave at the exact moment Admiral Onasi spotted Adrian. He rushed over to her.

"My god… Revan!" He tackled and hugged her fiercely.

Edward froze. "WHAT!" He turned to face "Adrian". "You said your name was Adrian!"

"A half-truth," Revan said, shrugging and smiling slightly. "Adrian was the name the Jedi Council gave me after they mind-wiped me. I was going to tell you."

Edward twitched. "A lie of omission is still a fracking lie!" He snarled.

"Calm down!" Revan said. "I don't like to go around parading my identity. It either earns me bitter hatred or endless fawning, neither of which I enjoy. That's why I gave you the Council's name and not my real one."

Edward scowled.

"Funny seeing you here, Ed," Carth said, smirking.

"I gave them a ride. Sure that's not illegal, Admiral?"

"Hell no. In fact, I'll have to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"For helping to get her back here safe and sound," Carth elaborated, smiling.

"Uh… you're welcome?" Edward said, awkwardly. "Anyway, we should get going. Places to go, people to see, and all that crap." He turned to leave.

"Hold on, boys," Revan said. "I was hoping to introduce you to someone. She'd be very interested to meet the two of you."

"And why's that?"

"She knew your father. She was his Master, in fact. When he was still in training."

"NO." Edward turned on his heel and stomped off.

"Ed!" Alphonse called after him. Edward ignored him. "I'm sorry," he said, quietly, to Revan. "Brother hates our dad."

"Hmm. That's a minor setback," Revan said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Setback?"

"Nevermind," Revan said, hastily.

Alphonse sighed. "I'll go talk to him. I'd like to meet Father's old Master, but Ed probably won't." He ran off after Edward.

He found his older brother in the cockpit of _Trisha's Curse_, going through several sets of hyperspace coordinates.

"There you are," he said when he heard Alphonse enter. "We're getting off this rock."

"But… Brother, I wanted to meet Dad's master."

"No, Al. I'll have nothing to do with him."

"You don't even know him, Ed!"

"That's exactly the point!" Edward roared, turning to face Alphonse. "He wasn't around to take care of us when he should've been! He should've been there for us, especially after Mom died!"

"But, Brother… what if he had some duty to the Jedi that kept him from—"

"Frack the Jedi, Al! He should've been there! Family comes first!"

"Ed," Alphonse said, calmly, "We don't know Dad, and we don't know his Jedi Master either. At least give her a chance. For me?"

Edward mellowed. "Fine…fine. But only because you asked." He walked past Alphonse, out of the cockpit, and into the main hold. He picked up his coat and pulled it on before heading out into the docking bay.

Revan and Charisma were still there, joined now by Malak and Bastila. Edward walked over to them and cleared his throat. Revan turned to face him.

"So who's this Jedi Master you wanted us to meet?" He asked.

"Why the change of heart?" Charisma asked.

"I'm only doing this because Al wants to."

"Fair 'nuff," Revan said. "Her name is Izumi Curtis. She's one of the more liberal Jedi Masters out there. Probably why she isn't serving on the Council. She's tough-as-nails, but she has a good heart. By the way, have you met Malak?"

"Yes," both Malak and Edward said, in unison.

"Oh. May I ask how?"

"Your Admiral sent him to try and stop me from escaping his ship," Edward said, twitching slightly as he recalled the fight.

"And you survived?" Revan said, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Nothing, it's just that… Malak's… strong. Very, very strong." Revan shrugged. "Let's go."

* * *

The first thing Edward noticed when they arrived was the sheer size of the Jedi Temple. He stood there gawking for a few seconds before Revan ushered them inside, into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. 

There were only two people in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. A young woman sat on the opposite end of the room, while a young Iridonian sat off to the side. The Iridonian was working on a double-bladed lightsaber, and didn't seem to notice them. Charisma blushed when she spotted the Iridonian Jedi. Edward raised an eyebrow at her as she took a step towards him, the heel of her boot clacking loudly against the marble floors. The Iridonian looked up, catching sight of Charisma. He gasped.

"G…General?"

Charisma smiled an ran over to him, hugging him fiercely. "I missed you, Bao…"

"I…I missed you too…" The Iridonian returned Charisma's hug. There was a moment of awkward silence. Edward cleared his throat.

"Oh…" Charisma blushed again, pulling away from the Iridonian. "Sorry. This is Bao-Dur."

Edward nodded but didn't say anything.

"Bao, do you know if Master Curtis is around?"

"You mean Izumi? She's back there." He pointed to the woman sitting in the back of the room. They couldn't see her face, but her hair was black and done in thin dreadlocks, all tied up in a high ponytail. She turned in the direction of their voices, revealing pale skin and dark eyes. She stood and walked over to them.

"Hello, Master Izumi," Revan greeted cheerfully.

"Revan. You've returned."

"Yeah. Charisma's back too."

"I can see that," Izumi said, wryly. She spotted Edward and Alphonse. "Hmm? Are they…?"

"Hohenheim's sons," Revan said, grinning.

Edward stared up at Izumi with a slight scowl on his face.

"So, the famous smugglers come to pay the Jedi a visit," Izumi said. "What's the occasion?"

"Al wanted to meet you," Edward said, simply.

Izumi turned to Alphonse, raising an eyebrow at him. "…Something's not right about you…" She said, softly, to Alphonse. "I can tell you're Force-Sensitive, yet… you don't seem to be…alive."

Alphonse looked somewhat nervous. "That can be explained, ma'am."

"Oh? I'm interested to know."

Alphonse squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again slowly. "I died on a run four years ago. Ed sealed my soul to a cyborg body out of grief."

Surprise registered on Izumi's face. Revan looked completely unfazed.

"You performed a soul binding with no training whatsoever?" Izumi asked. Edward nodded. "That's… nothing short of amazing."

"He almost died doing it," Alphonse added, softly. "When I came to, he was having a seizure…" He trailed off.

"Still nothing short of amazing," Izumi said. "I would be willing to take the two of you for training, if you were interested. Although it's highly unorthodox for a Master to have two Padawans."

Edward shook his head. "It'd only be one, and that's if Al agrees. I'm not interested."

"A pity. Your talent would be wasted on something as petty as smuggling."

Edward scowled. "I'm done here. Let's go Al." He seized his brother's arm.

"But, Brother—!"

"Al," Edward warned, through gritted teeth.

Alphonse sighed. "It was nice meeting you, Master Izumi."

Izumi bowed slightly. "And you."

Edward and Alphonse left the temple. Izumi sighed

"Edward has a lot of anger in him," she noted.

"So did Hohenheim," Revan said, evenly. "But, hey, those boys are the only reason Charisma and I were able to get here. I doubt anyone else would've given us a ride off of Nar Shaadda. I know they both have good hearts."

* * *

Edward and Alphonse once again found themselves in a cantina after their meeting with Izumi. Edward had a glass of Corellian brandy in front of him, but he hadn't touched it. 

"Damn," he muttered. "Damn that manipulative witch."

"You mean Revan?"

"Of course, who else would I be talking about?"

Alphonse shrugged. The door to the cantina slid open, and several heads turned to stare at the woman who had just arrived. Edward and Alphonse ignored her as she walked past them, up to the bar.

"Hey, a glass of Juma, please," she said to the bartender, who filled a glass with the drink and handed it to her wordlessly. The woman swivelled in her chair and took a sip of her drink before almost choking on it as she laid eyes on the two brothers.

"Ed? Al?"

Edward turned to face her. "…Mira!"

"Hey!" Mira said, grinning. "What're you guys doing on Coruscant?"

"We gave a couple of Jedi a ride," Edward said, shrugging.

"Really? 'Cause I heard an old Jedi friend of mine was back in known space again. One of the Jedi wouldn't happen to be named Charisma, would they?"

"Yeah. You knew her?"

Mira laughed and joined the brothers at their table. "Charisma Dantrah… heh, she's the reason my life is where it is now."

"How do you mean?"

Mira smiled. "I met her on Nar Shaddaa and helped to save her from the Exchange. I was mostly think to turn her in for the bounty that was out on Jedi at the time, but I ended up travelling with her for a while. Even though I made it clear I was in it for the bounty on her head, she was always nice to me. Always. She understood how I was able to find people the way I did, and she seemed to know what Nar Shaddaa felt like to me. Once, we returned there, and she took me for a walk in the Refugee Sector. Just the two of us. I remember… the moment she showed me the Force… like it was yesterday. She awakened me to the currents of life on Nar Shaddaa. It was almost maddening, but she taught me to shut it out. Since she began training me as a Jedi… my life has gained new meaning. I'm not a bounty hunter anymore. Somehow, I can't stand the thought of it."

Edward stared at her in stunned silence for a moment. "You're a Jedi?"

"Yeah. It's changed my life." She eyed him oddly. "You know, I met your father on Dxun while I was travelling with Charisma."

Edward turned away from her. "Really?" He said, not sounding very interested.

"Yeah. He helped us knock out a Sith encampment in the tomb of Freedon Nadd." Edward didn't respond. Mira sighed. "He's a good man, you know, he's just—"

"I don't care," Edward said, through gritted teeth. "He wasn't there to help us after Mom died, that's all that matters."

"He was under orders from Revan to keep an eye on the new Mandalore at the time."

"So? Family comes first."

"Maybe," Mira said, shrugging. "The point is, you can't hold a grudge against him forever. And there's a good chance that he didn't know your mom was dead."

"Don't care. I can't believe you joined the Jedi, Mira. You used to hate them."

"That was before I met Charisma. You should consider it."

"What, you, too! Why does everyone want me to become a Jedi!"

"Because you'd make a good Jedi. Both of you would."

Edward sighed, somehow not feeling as angry at the prospect of being a Jedi. Perhaps it was because Mira, who had been good friends with the brothers since they began smuggling, had suggested it. "I…I'll think about it."

"Hope you decide to do it," Mira said.

Edward shrugged and took a sip of his drink. Mira finished hers and stood up.

"Nice seeing you guys again," she said. She left.

Edward stood up as well. "Let's go, Al." He paid the bartender and left the cantina, emerging in the cool night air of Coruscant. It was no longer raining, but the night was still clouded over. They made their way back to their ship. As they entered the docking bay, a feeling of sudden wrongness washed over Edward. Looking around warily, Edward made his way over to the boarding ramp, highly disconcerted by the feeling permeating the room.

"Brother!"

Edward wheeled around as Alphonse screamed and was thrust bodily into the nearest wall. A man stood in the entrance of the bay, a man with dark skin, spiky, graying hair, red eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, and an x-shaped scar on his forehead.

Edward took a step back, fingering the switch on the side of his arm. The blade sprang forth, jutting out of his sleeve. The man advanced.

"All Jedi must die," he hissed.

* * *

**A/N:** Guess whooooo:D Sorry 'bout the cliffie. 


	7. Chapter 6: Scar

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 6: Scar**_

Edward took another step back, fear washing over him as the man's eyes bored into his own. Alphonse wavered to his feet, drawing out his vibrosword.

"I think you're mistaken," Edward said, slowly. "We're not Jedi. We're just two, ordinary, run-of-the-mill smugglers."

"Liar," the man said. "The Force is strong with you both."

"That doesn't mean that we're Jedi," Edward said, panic rising in his chest.

"If you aren't now, then you will be eventually. All Jedi must die." He reached into the pocket of his coat and drew a lightsaber from within it, igniting the crimson blade and running towards Edward. It was all Edward could do to tumble off to the side to avoid the blow. Another attack came so quickly that Edward had to scramble out of the way.

_Oh Force, I'm going to die!_ Edward thought. _All I can do is run away! I'm going to die!_

Alphonse lunged at the man with his vibrosword, but was easily beaten back. The man held out his hand, fingers curling into hooked talons as he telekinetically lifted Alphonse into the air. A few moments later, he quirked an eyebrow and dropped Alphonse, whose hand flew to his throat.

"Curious," he said. "Curious that you are not affected by Force Grip…"

Alphonse stared at him. "You're a Jedi yourself. Why are you attacking us?"

"I am Sith, not Jedi."

Edward stumbled to his feet and drew his right arm back, aiming at the man's head.

"Too slow," the man hissed, catching the punch. Edward fell back, scared. As quick and dextrous as he was, he could not match this man's speed. His eyes widened as he was lifted into the air. Pain shot through every bone in his body. "After I destroy you," the man said, "your brother will be the next to die."

"No…" Edward gasped, eyes squeezed shut against the pain. "Don't hurt Al… please…"

"Sorry. I'm not feeling very merciful." The pain increased. Edward threw his head back and bit back a scream as his right arm shattered into pieces. The pain in his right leg spiked as a sickening _crunch_ tore through the air.

A blaster shot was fired, and the man turned to the entrance of the bay. A second man with grey hair, beard, and eyes, with numerous scars stood there, flanked by a slightly shorter man with long blond hair tied back into a ponytail and a beard.

Edward's head lolled to the side and he groaned as his opponent dropped him. He collapsed, his leg crumpling beneath him painfully. He panted, tears coming to his eyes.

"Get away from my son, Sith," a voice hissed. A lightsaber activated, and a blaster cocked.

"Anytime but now…" Edward whimpered. Tears streamed from his eyes as pain overwhelmed him, and he passed out.

* * *

_"Al? Alphonse, say something!"_

_Edward shook his brother's lifeless body, lying sprawled on his stomach, the stumps of his left leg and right arm bleeding and burned. Voices were shouting all around him in the chaos of the attack. The Dark Jedi who had fought them was nowhere to be found. Soldiers swarmed everywhere, trying to calm the panic._

_"No, Al! Stay with me!" Edward sobbed, burying his head in Alphonse's chest. "Al!"_

_"Someone help! There's been a murder!" An Onderonian shouted. Edward clung to Alphonse's body desperately, fighting back as soldiers tried to break him away._

_"No, I won't leave him! I won't! He's my brother!" Edward sobbed. "He's my brother…"

* * *

_

"…not sure when he'll wake up. He's banged up pretty bad. Broken leg, right arm completely shattered. ….Yeah. Hohenheim said he was his son. ….No, Carth, I didn't catch the guy's name. He didn't bother to tell me as I was trying to shoot him." The last was said sarcastically. "I'll keep you updated. ….Yes, I'm well aware Revan's vastly interested in him. Canderous out."

Edward came to in the Medical Bay of _Trisha's Curse_. His leg had been bandaged, and someone had removed his coat, overshirt, gloves, and boots. He stared around the room, spotting the grey-haired man sitting by his bed with a comlink in hand.

"Ah, and just when I told Admiral Onasi you were still asleep," the man said, his voice sounding gruff.

Edward groaned. "Who're you?"

"Name's Canderous. You're Ed Elric, the smuggler."

Edward swallowed. "What happened?"

"You passed out. Your brother says you've got a broken leg."

"Who was that man?"

"Sith. Don't know much else beyond that. Although he looks vaguely familiar to me."

"…Why did you help me?"

Canderous shook his head. "It wasn't a fair fight. That man had you outgunned. Figuratively speaking, of course. You're lucky you survived."

"I didn't think anyone cared about fair fights anymore."

"No, you're right. Not many people do."

The door to the medical bay slid open, revealing the blond Jedi and Alphonse. Alphonse rushed over to Edward.

"Brother! You're awake! Are you alright?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Edward said through gritted teeth, grimacing.

Alphonse shook his head.

"Good, 'cause I'm not." He glared at the blond Jedi. "You! If my leg weren't broken and I still had my right arm, you'd be getting a fist full of Cortosis right now!"

Hohenheim Elric looked rather shocked. "I helped save your life, Edward!"

"You left Mom to die on Risembul, just so you could follow Revan to war against the Republic!" Edward snarled.

Hohenheim stared at Edward. "…Trisha's…dead?"

"She died eight years ago, old man."

"Ed, please," Alphonse whispered. "Not now."

Edward sighed and leaned back into his pillow. "We need to see Winry."

"I'd say so," Alphonse agreed.

"Who's Winry?" Canderous asked.

"Our mechanic," Edward and Alphonse said, in unison.

"What happened to the two of you?" Hohenheim said, hoarsely. "Why have you got mechanical limbs, Edward?"

Edward frowned. Not many people had heard about the incident on Onderon. But if Hohenheim had been on Dxun like Mira had said he was, he should've known about it.

"There was an attack on Onderon," he began, swallowing. "Four years ago."

"Force… That was you two?"

Edward nodded. "So you did hear about it."

"Of course. Canderous used to make routine trips to Iziz. We went to Onderon shortly after the incident. That's when we heard about it. I never imagined that it was the two of you, though."

Edward shut his eyes and sighed. "I don't like to think about it. It was traumatic, and I'd rather not have to go through it again."

"Understandable," Hohenheim said. "I'll leave you alone for a bit." He turned to leave.

"Hey, old man."

"What?"

"Your old master says hi."

Hohenheim glanced at him, then smiled and left. Edward shut his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

_Though the hospital on Onderon was pristine and well-kept, and the doctors friendly, Edward was already growing restless. His brother was gone. That fact had only just begun to sink in as he lay, unable to move, in the hospital bed. The stumps of the limbs he had lost were wrapped in bandages, which were stained with blood and kolto. The most the doctors could do was put him in a Kolto tank to stop the bleeding._

_Alphonse was dead. And it was his fault._

_He couldn't stay. He needed to get back to _Trisha's Curse, _and fly to Risembul. But he couldn't do it alone, especially not with two missing limbs. Determinedly, he swung his remaining leg over the side of the bed and picked up the crutch leaning against the wall. Ignoring the protests of the medic who had just come to see him, he left the room and managed to hobble all the way to the nearest communications array. Working quickly, he sent a message to the only people he had left that were as close as family._

_Winry Rockbell and her grandmother, Pinako.

* * *

_

Edward drifted back to wakefulness maybe an hour or two later. Canderous had left the medical bay. Only Alphonse was left now.

"Hey, Al," he said. Alphonse looked up at him.

"Brother? You should go back to sleep."

"Don't want to. I've been dreaming. About what happened four years ago."

Alphonse's expression was unreadable. "Oh." He stood up. "We're en route to Risembul right now. Canderous sent a message to Admiral Onasi, telling him what happened at the dock and where we're taking you."

"How does someone like Canderous know the Admiral?"

"A mutual friend," Hohenheim's voice said. Edward turned to face his father, one eyebrow raised.

"Care to elaborate, old man?"

"Revan. They both knew Revan very well."

"And now we circle back to her," Edward muttered. "Canderous knew Revan?"

"As I said, very well. He crewed the _Ebon Hawk_ with her."

"The _Ebon Hawk_! No fracking way! That ship's famous! Every smuggler wants to get his hands on it!"

"Is that jealousy I sense, Ed?"

"…Did I not just say that every smuggler wants to get his hands on that ship? How the frack did she get a hold of her?"

"Stole 'er, is what I heard."

"…Stole her? How?"

"Not a clue. Canderous could probably tell you."

"Why's he still here?"

"Because I asked him to be. I'm like mold: I grow on people."

"Not on me, old man," Edward muttered. "Do you know who attacked me?"

"Sith."

"Other than that."

"Al managed to tear off the sleeve of his coat when he tried to run. I could've sworn I saw clan Ordo's tattoo on his arm."

"Clan Ordo?"

"One of the Mandalorian clans. Canderous is one of them."

"If he's Mandalorian, why is he a Dark Jedi? I thought Mandalorians were Force-Blind."

"Anomalies happen," Hohenheim shrugged. "The Mandalorians also respect the Jedi, especially Revan, for defeating them. I've no clue why this one holds a grudge."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I was living on Dxun with the rest of clan Ordo for nine years. I've picked up the language and parts of their culture. They sort of adopted me as well, like Canderous 'adopted' Revan as a little sister of sorts. Like I said, mold."

"I'm calling him 'Scar'."

Edward raised an eyebrow at Canderous, who had just appeared beside Hohenheim. "Come again?"

"I'm calling the Mandalorian Sith who attack you 'Scar'. I can't find anything on him, not even his name. So it's 'Scar' now."

"Okay…"

"We were just discussing you, Canderous," Hohenheim said.

"Oh, really? I hop there were good things said."

"Dad mentioned that your clan seems to have adopted him," Alphonse said.

"Hah, yeah. We didn't want him there at first, but we got used to him. He's very capable. For a Jedi, I mean."

"How the Hell did Revan get her hands on the _Ebon Hawk_?" Edward asked Canderous.

"I helped her steal it from Taris's Exchange Boss."

"…You're nuts, man."

"So was she."

"That I don't doubt."

Canderous laughed. "E.T.A. to Risembul is four hours."

"Thanks."

"Edward," Hohenheim said, "will you let me heal your leg so you can walk on it when you get home?"

"…You can mend broken bones with the Force?"

"Yeah. What's really difficult is regeneration of lost limbs. Or mandibles." Hohenheim coughed.

"Is it possible?"

"Yeah. You just need a really powerful Force amplifier."

"Does one exist?"

Hohenheim remained silent for a moment. "Yes. But you don't want to use it."

"I think I do, old man."

"You don't understand. After Revan saved Malak from the Dark Side aboard the Star Forge, she began looking for a way to regenerate Malak's jaw, which she had gut off after he devastated Telos. She found a crystal that amplifies the user's Force abilities almost infinitely, and used it to restore her brother's jaw."

"So? That sounds perfect."

"But, there was a cost she hadn't known about. Some cost so terrible that, when she found out about it, she destroyed the crystal. Even Malak regretted using it."

"What was the cost?"

"She wouldn't say. But she was disgusted with herself afterwards."

Edward remained silent.

"Brother…?" Alphonse said, quietly. "Are you considering…?"

"Yeah."

"You said you didn't want to, though."

"I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"Mira. Scar. The Sith on Onderon four years ago. I can't fight people like Scar without training. I won't stand a chance. As soon as we get back from Risembul, we'll find Master Izumi and accept her offer to train us."

"If that's what you want to do, Brother."

"Yeah. I guess Mira will be happy to hear about it."

"I guess so."

"You're going to join the Jedi, Ed?" Hohenheim asked, softly, sitting down next to the bed and holding a hand over Edward's right leg.

"Didn't I just say that?"

A soft glow illuminated Hohenheim's hand as he shut his eyes and concentrated on Edward's leg. The pain in his leg spiked briefly before subsiding completely as the glow faded. Hohenheim opened his eyes slowly. "That's good. The Order needs as many people as they can get. your leg should be fine now."

"Why is Revan so interested in us?" Edward asked, suddenly remembering the conversation he had overheard between Canderous and Admiral Onasi.

Hohenheim looked at Edward oddly. "Revan's been interested in you ever since I told her about you guys during the war."

"Which one?"

"Jedi Civil War."

"Oh, great. You told her about us when she was Sith."

"Well, she's powerful. Moreso than you can imagine. As Dark Lord of the Sith she struck fear into the hearts of men just by standing there. Malak couldn't compare, even if he was two metres tall and had the iron jaw thing going on."

"He's… two metres tall!"

"Hah, yeah. Clearly Revan didn't get his height gene. She's one hundred fifty-eight centimetres tall. Charismatic, though. The shortest people sometimes are." Hohenheim stood. "Get some rest, Ed."

"Kinda hard to sleep when you keep dreaming about the worst day of your life," Edward muttered, closing his eyes."

* * *

_It had taken several days for Winry to arrive at Onderon via shuttle. Edward had been asleep when she found him and smuggled him out of his hospital room and returned to his ship, _Trisha's Curse_. When Edward awoke, they had already been en route to Risembul._

_"Ed? You're awake!" She threw herself at him, hugging him and crying. "Is Al really dead? What happened!"_

_Edward told her everything he knew about what had happened. They were both crying silently by the end._

_"Winry…" Edward said. "I need you to do something for me."_

_"Anything."_

_"I…I need you to make a replica of Al."_

_"…What!"_

_"I can't live without him, Winry! He's my brother! You're a brilliant technician, Winry, I know you can do it!"_

_"…Thank you, Ed, but…"_

_"Winry, please," Edward begged._

_"…Alright Ed. I'll do it. Only because it's you asking, though."_

_"Thank you. It means the world to me."

* * *

_

The air was chilly when they arrived on Risembul. Edward stepped out of _Trisha's Curse_ outside the Rockbell's house, staring around. Hohenheim, Alphonse, and Canderous followed behind closely.

"Aunt Pinako?" Edward called. "Winry?"

"Well, well, look who's returned from the gaping maw of Nar Shaddaa," a voice said. Edward looked up to the front porch to see a little old lady standing there, smoking a pipe, next to a dog with a prosthetic front leg.

"Hey! Aunt Pinako!" Edward greeted.

"Welcome back, Ed. Winry! Winry! Our regulars are back!"

The sounds of stomping footsteps sounded before a girl with long, blond hair tied up in a high ponytail, blue eyes, and dressed in a mechanic's jumpsuit stepped onto the porch and promptly threw an arcwrench at Edward's head. The arcwrench hit its mark squarely, prompting a startled yell from Edward.

"Ow! That hurt!"

"How many times have I told you to send me a message before you come in for maintenance!" Winry yelled.

"I was injured! It was the last thing on my mind!"

"Injured! What the frack did you do this time!"

"Nothing! We were attacked!"

"Attacked! Ed, you need to stop this! Smuggling is risky business, you should never have gotten involved!"

"Smuggling had nothing to do with it! He was a Sith, and he thought we were Jedi!"

"…What? Another Sith?"

"It's the truth, Winry," Alphonse said.

"Why didn't you tell him you weren't Jedi?"

"We did, he said that if we weren't now, we would be eventually."

"…You two? Ed would never join the Jedi, he hates them. Plus, you're too old."

"Uh… well, actually…" Edward began.

"…You are going to join?"

"It's the only way we can fight this guy, and at this point, the Order is willing to take anyone they can get," Edward said, shrugging. "Plus, an old friend wants us to."

"An old friend."

"Yeah, a bounty-hunter-come-Jedi."

"I didn't think the Jedi would let bounty hunters join their ranks."

"She never killed. She hated the idea. She did it solely to survive."

"Well, enough of this. Did you only come here to tell me that, or is there something else?"

"Uh, yeah. There was something else. My arm got destroyed."

"…WHAT!"


	8. Chapter 7: The Jedi Order

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. For a while I had no idea where this was going.

I have now finalized the plot for this story, and it will be deviating majorly from the _Full Metal Alchemist_ series. Just to warn ye.

Many thanks to mastercontoro and anonymous-cat at for faithfully reviewing at every chapter! (And especially mastercontoro for his uber-long reviews. :3)

-**Dark Jedi Princess**

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 7: The Jedi Order**_

"I can't believe he destroyed your arm!" Winry fumed. They were inside the house now. Edward had taken off his coat, overshirt, and gloves. Alphonse's coat was off too, but Winry had yet to notice the flesh that had been burned off of his arms. She was too busy steaming over Edward's arm. "I'll have to build a new one from scratch now! What the hell were you two thinking!"

"It wasn't our fault!" Edward protested. "I don't know what Scar used to shatter my arm, but there was no way to counter it! Cortosis is lightsaber-resistant, not Force-resistant!"

"I don't care! It's a hassle! That was a master piece, one of the best prosthetics I've ever built! And you!" She said turning to Alphonse. "Just because I made your insides from Cortosis doesn't mean you can block lightsaber blows with your arms!"

"Yes ma'am," Alphonse said, timidly.

Canderous raised both eyebrows but didn't say anything directly to Winry. Instead, he leaned over to Hohenheim and hissed, "One of them's a droid?"

"It's news to me. Although if Al died four years ago, I can picture Ed being grief-stricken enough to want an exact replica of him. She did an excellent job, though. Looks exactly like him. You'd have to be a Force-Adept to tell he's not human."

Winry lifted one of Alphonse's arms and examined the damage. She sighed. "I'll have to graft on some new skin. The stuff's expensive, too."

Alphonse avoided her eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry. I wasn't able to block some of her blows with my sword."

"Whose blows?"

"We got caught by the Republic a few days before Scar attacked us. When we tried to escape, they sent a couple of Jedi after us."

"Lucky me, I got to fight the former Darth Malak," Edward muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"But Ms. Shan should've been able to predict my every move, Brother. Her Battle Meditation—"

"Bah, that's nothing compared to fighting the former Dark Lord of the fracking Sith," Edward growled.

"You fought Malak! And survived!"

"What can I say? I'm fast."

"Yeah, Malak's too tall and bulky to be able to catch someone as small and dextrous as Ed is," Hohenheim noted.

"Did you just call me short, old man!" Edward snarled.

"It's an advantage sometimes," Hohenheim said, evenly, unperturbed by Edward's sudden outburst. Canderous was laughing quietly.

"Well, I'd better get started," Winry said, stretching. "Your leg needs a few adjustments, Ed, I think you've grown a couple of centimetres."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Here, I think we've got a spare lying around somewhere…" Winry rummaged around and found a spare leg for Edward, which she swapped with the prosthetic. She hoisted Edward's leg over her shoulder. "Gah, this is going to be an all-nighter… first I have to make all the parts from scratch, then I have to put them together… You'll be the death of me, Ed…" She wandered into the back of the house.

Pinako took a drag from her pipe. "Edward," she said, "this life you lead is getting too dangerous. You should stop now, before it kills you."

"I know," Edward said, quietly. He stood and tested the spare leg, wobbling a bit. "Whoa. Hard to walk on a leg I'm not used to… How long until my arm and leg are ready? A week?"

"Don't underestimate me," Pinako said, with a grin. "I'll have them ready for you in three days."

* * *

"Three days… frack. What am I gonna do for three days?" Edward grumbled unhappily.

The four were now outside of the Rockbell residence. Edward wore a light, loose shirt and dark, baggy slacks instead of his usually colours of black and red. Alphonse still wore his jeans and black sleeveless shirt, but had taken off his coat, boots, and gloves.

"What were you planning on doing for a week?" Canderous asked. "That's how long you thought it'd take."

"I have no clue. I can't spar with only one arm and a leg I'm not used to. Pazaak is boring and Dejarik is too complicated. I'd spend time with Winry, but she's obviously busy and having people hover over her while she's working throws her off kilter. But I can't just sit around the whole time. I have to do something. Argh, this is why I hate coming back here!"

"Perhaps we should visit Mom's grave," Alphonse suggested. "Pay our respects."

"Hmmm, probably," Edward agreed. He stood up and pulled on his coat. He disappeared around the side of the house and came back moments later with a bunch of flowers. "Let's go. Do you remember where the graveyard is, old man, or have you been gone too long?"

"Ah… well..." Hohenheim began, somewhat sheepishly.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Den! Come, boy!"

The dog that had been lying next to Edward got up excitedly, wagging his tail.

"Hold these." Edward gave Den the flowers and they headed towards the northeast, where the nearest graveyard was. After fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at Trisha's grave. Edward tool the flowers from Den's mouth and laid them on top of his mother's grave. Hohenheim got down on both knees and clasped his hands. Canderous said a few words in Mandalorian.

After a few moments of silence, Hohenheim asked, quietly, "How did Trisha die?"

"Sickness," Edward answered, simply. "The doctors did everything they could, but… it wasn't enough."

Hohenheim nodded and stood. "After Malak betrayed Revan, I met Revan again in one of the tombs on Korriban. I probably would've followed her back to the Light Side no matter what, but… There was one thing she said that convinced me to do it: she told me that, if Trisha knew I had followed her to the Dark Side, she would've been devastated. Part of me denied that, but…" he shrugged. "The part that didn't won." He scoffed. "Ironic, really. That she died before I could… do anything to make up for my absence."

"You should've come back after that."

"I should've, you're right. I'm sorry."

"You know, this is getting somewhat depressing," Canderous noted. "And it's getting dark. We should probably head back."

Edward nodded, scratching Den behind the ears. "Alright, let's go." They left.

* * *

The rest of the three days passed in relative peace and quiet (which seemed to irk Canderous just a bit). Finally, Winry and Pinako finished with Edward's limbs.

Edward braced himself in his chair as Winry and Pinako prepared to reattach his prosthetics.

"Ready, Ed? Three… two… one…"

Edward screamed as his limbs were reattached. Canderous raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think people realize just how painful it is to attach prosthetic limbs until they actually get them," Alphonse said, quietly, while Winry and Pinako made some final adjustments to Edward's limbs. "Ed certainly didn't."

Edward stood up and stretched. "Feels good. What'd you do?"

"I made your arm eighty percent lighter than it was before, but it's less durable now. Don't be too hard on it," Winry answered, cleaning off her hands.

Edward ignored her, dashing back over to Alphonse.

"Ready for a match, Al?"

"Sure." Alphonse stood, and the two brothers headed outside. Hohenheim and Canderous followed, curious.

The first thing they saw upon going outside was Edward and Alphonse, engaged it hand-to-hand combat. Edward moved very quickly, but still Alphonse managed to block the majority of his brother's blows.

Canderous laughed. "A sparring match! Excellent!"

Edward dodged a blow by Alphonse, grinning. "It's to keep us on our toes."

Something of a grin crossed Canderous's face. "Mind if I join in?"

"Uh…"

Canderous didn't wait for an answer. He leapt into the fray with a smirk on his face. Hohenheim sat back on the porch, laughing.

"Good luck, boys, you're gonna need it," he said, grinning, as Canderous flipped Edward onto the ground.

"Shut up, old man!"

* * *

Working together, Edward and Alphonse managed to best Canderous, although it was a close match. Canderous complained that his age was getting to him, but admitted the loss anyway.

"That was quite a fight," Edward panted as they headed back inside.

"You're not so bad yourself, kid," Canderous returned. "A little formal training would do you some good, though."

"Master Izumi gives more than 'a little' formal training in combat," Hohenheim commented as they stepped onto the porch, where he had been sitting and watching their match. "She insists that 'to train the mind, one must also train the body'. Almost all of her Padawans have been Jedi Guardians."

"Jedi Guardians?" Edward inquired.

"One of the three basic Jedi classes: Guardian, Sentinel, and Consular."

"What's the difference?"

"Guardians focus their efforts on lightsaber combat. Consulars focus on the Force and their understanding of it. Sentinels are somewhere in between, using both their combat skills and Force skills equally, while at the same time honing their more… mundane skills."

"I see… what class are you, then?"

"Guardian. Specialist in lightsabers, although I spent quite a bit of time honing my hand-to-hand with Canderous and his clan. Mandalorians appreciate hand-to-hand more than most other forms of combat, because you are only using your own body to fight, nothing else."

"What about Master Izumi?"

"She's a Sentinel-Watchman. Watchman is one of the Prestige Classes awarded to a Jedi once they become a Master. The others are Weapon-Master and Force-Master." (A/N: Yes, I changed it. Jedi Master and Sith Lord should be classes you EARN, not choose.)

"She taught him well," Canderous noted. "He bested our champion, Bralor, in the Battle Circle at our camp on Dxun. In hand-to-hand, even, though Bralor was willing to let him use his lightsaber and the Force."

The ate one last meal with the Rockbells, in which the conversation mostly revolved around Hohenheim's tome on Dxun with the Mandalorian clan Ordo. Afterwards, they said their good-byes and boarded _Trisha's Curse_.

"Do you think we'll get to see them again after this, Brother?" Alphonse asked Edward.

"Of course, why wouldn't we?"

"The Jedi supposedly discourage close relationships with people."

"But it's not forbidden," Edward countered, with a wink.

Hohenheim laughed. "They were about to exile me for marrying Trisha when I left for the war. But now, various Masters are attempting to reform the Order."

"Like who?"

"Master Bindo, for one. He's an old friend of Revan's."

"Anyone else?"

"Some of the less conservative Masters on the Council… Although, Master Atris is a hardcore traditionalist. Watch out for her."

Edward stared out of the viewport. "This is going to be… different. I'm not so sure I can deal with it."

"You'll do fine, I'm sure," Hohenheim reassured him.

* * *

When Edward and Alphonse re-entered the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, they were overwhelmed by the feeling of raw power emanating from the very walls themselves. They stared around, taking in the intricate details of the walls and pillars.

"So where do you think Master Izumi is?" Edward asked Alphonse, drawing his attention back to his brother.

"I'm not sure, but—"

Quite abruptly, a white-haired woman dressed in white and silver swooped down on them, eyeing them hawkishly.

"You are not Padawans here," She said, her voice stern. "What is your business in the temple?"

"We're here to see one of the Masters about training," Edward answered, frowning. He didn't like this woman.

"I am Master Atris, Overseer of the Archives, and you are too old for training."

"You have no say in the matter, Master Atris," a voice said. Edward glanced to Atris's left and saw Izumi stalking up to them, looking miffed.

"Master Curtis," Atris said, distaste stinging her voice.

"You, Master Atris, have never had a Padawan in your life. How you even achieved the rank of Master is beyond me. The Order needs as many people as they can get, young or old," Izumi scolded Atris. Edward was struck by how very frightening Izumi looked.

"It's for the Council to decide," Atris said. "How old are these two? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

"Twenty and twenty-one," Edward countered, scowling. He was liking Atris less and less now.

"Much too old, Master Curtis! Adults cannot be properly—"

"That's bullshit," Izumi said, scowling. "It doesn't matter how old they are, as long as they are willing!"

"Can I say something?" Edward said. The two women turned to him. "Master… Atris, was it? In charge of the Archives?"

Atris nodded.

"So you're a librarian, basically."

"Yes, what of it?"

"And you've never had an apprentice?"

"No. Get to the point."

"So you really have no idea if adults are able to be trained, having never had an apprentice of your own," Edward said, eyes narrowing, a scathing note in his voice.

A muscle twitched near Atris's mouth. "Obstinate boy… How dare you talk back to me like that!"

"It's the truth," Edward said. "My age has nothing to do with whether I can be trained or not."

"Well said, Edward," Master Izumi agreed, smiling. "The universe is not black and white as the Jedi have previously taught. That was our downfall during the Jedi Civil War. Mind the lesson the Exile taught you five years ago."

"Do not speak of her to me!" Atris snapped.

"You hate her, even though she saved you, in more ways than one. Why?"

"She had betrayed me, betrayed the Order, long ago. Along with your last Padawan!"

"So you hate all four of them? Revan, Malak, Charisma, and Hohenheim? To me, they are the strongest of all Jedi: Charisma for living without the Force after being cut off, and the rest for continuing to resist their own inner Darkness."

"The Exile should have perished at Malachor Five."

"You made that argument the day she was exiled," Izumi said, rolling her eyes. "It's getting old."

"Master Atris!" Hohenheim's voice said, mock-happiness clearly evident in it. "How are you?" Edward glanced behind him, spotting Hohenheim approaching with his black coat swirling around him dramatically. Canderous was not far behind him.

"You," Atris hissed. Hohenheim smirked.

"Me," he returned. "Why so mad, Atris? That's not very Jedi-like. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Of course not," Atris hissed.

"Huh. Well, I see you've met my sons." He ruffled Edward's hair with one hand. Edward scowled.

"Your sons!" She eyed Edward and Alphonse angrily. "Then they should not be trained!"

"You can't transfer my mistakes to them. That's not fair."

"That's enough!" Izumi interrupted. "It's up to the Council to decide."

"Then don't count on my vote," Atris snarled, stalking off. Edward scowled after her.

"That schutta's on the Council?"

"Sadly. I'm happy to see you two again," Izumi said, smiling genuinely. She hugged Hohenheim. "And you, of course, Hohenheim. Have you changed your mind about training, Edward?"

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"We should see the Council, then. Follow me."

* * *

The Council chamber was a large, circular room with many windows and skylights. Several chairs were arranged in a circle, Jedi Masters seated in most of them. They wore varying colours of robes, though most were plain and unassuming.

One master, in particular, struck Edward as somewhat peculiar. He was a bald, black man, with white eyebrows and beard, dressed in cool brown robes, a single lightsaber hanging from his belt. He was slouching somewhat in his seat, and smiled warmly at the group as they entered the room.

"Master Curtis, Jedi Knight Elric," he greeted.

"Master Bindo," Izumi returned, bowing slightly.

Edward raised an eyebrow and mouthed to Hohenheim, "That's Master Bindo?"

Hohenheim nodded in response and grinned at Master Bindo before bowing slightly as well.

"What brings you before the Council?" Master Bindo asked.

"My sons, actually," Hohenheim said, putting a hand on Edward and Alphonse's shoulders. Edward inclined his head towards Master Bindo but didn't say anything.

"Say," another voice said, "didn't yiou two help my companions with something on Nar Shaddaa?"

Edward turned to face a man with blond hair and green eyes. He wore plain brown and white robes and was eyeing them curiously.

"Master Mical?" Bindo acknowledged.

"Yes… I'm sure of it now. When the Exile was captured by the Exchange, a young woman named Mira agreed to help us rescue her… I believe she asked for the help of these two boys. Supposedly they are… very skilled individuals, especially considering that, at the time, they were fifteen and sixteen years old and successfully broke into a droid warehouse without being detected."

"Yeah, that was us," Edward confirmed.

"Interesting… you want to join the Order now? Did Mira convince you to do it?"

"…Yes, but there are… other factors."

A scoff sounded from the other end of the circle of Masters. Atris sat there, the only Master in pure white.

"The bounty hunter convinced them? This does not bode well."

"While I am aware of your ill-will towards the Exile and her companions, Master Atris, know that Padawan Mira is a good person and has never killed unless she had to," Mical stated, evenly. "Of course, I have known her for a shorter time that the Elric Brothers probably have, but I am confident that they would tell you the same."

"They're smugglers," Atris said. "All smugglers know naught but greed and lust."

"You're over-generalizing, Master Atris," Bindo said, frowning. "Not all smugglers are like that. In fact, I heard that these two refused to participate in the slave trade, even when they were employed by the Exchange. Clearly they're not willing to do anything for money, which is what a greedy smuggler should be willing to do. Perhaps they are merely trying to survive." Bindo smiled at them, and winked subtly. Edward caught his meaning: Bindo had done a bit of smuggling himself.

"But—"

"You know nothing of these boys, Master Atris, so do not judge them," Bindo said, sternly, before Atris could finish.

"Enough," a gruff voice said. Edward caught sight of a tall, burly man, bald, but with a black moustache. His robes were dark grey. "This bickering is pointless. Master Curtis, you wish to train these boys?"

"I do, Master Grand," Izumi responded.

"Both of them?"

"I think it would be unwise to separate them," Izumi said. "They have developed a strong bond with each other. Possibly even a Force Bond." Edward raised an eyebrow at Izumi. "They are brothers, Master Grand. I have heard it said that they mean the galaxy to each other, and each would do anything for the other, even if it cost him his live."

Atris didn't appear to have anything to say to this. Master Grand thought it over for a few moments. After a while, he said, "It is highly unorthodox for a Master to have two Padawans. However, given our current situation…"

"You can't seriously be considering this, Master Grand!" Atris objected. "They are Hohenheim Elric's sons! They will only follow the path their father took!"

"That is an unfair assumption to make, Master Atris," Hohenheim shot back. "Do not assume that they will follow my path just because they are my children."

"We need all the people we can get," Master Grand said. "Master Izumi will train the Elric Brothers in the ways of the Jedi."

"Welcome to the Order, boys," Bindo said, with a smile.


	9. Chapter 8: Homunculi

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 8: Homunculi**_

"Ed! Ed!"

Edward awoke with a start as he felt Alphonse shaking his shoulder.

"Huh…wha…?" He muttered. "What's up, Al?"

"We have a sparring session now! Come on!"

"Great," Edward groaned, getting up and fixing his braid (it had started to come undone as he slept).

Izumi's training methods had proved over the past few months to be extremely rigourous and challenging. She was as tough as she was kind, a harsh teacher who still cared for her students.

At first, Edward and Alphonse had trouble keeping up with Izumi's pace of teaching. When Edward had gotten behind, he stayed up all night catching up. Alphonse seemed more able to keep up, since he did not sleep and was able to spend his nights studying.

Mingled with their studies of Jedi history were numerous physical and disciplinary exercises. They sparred frequently, using long swords instead of lightsabers. Disciplinary exercises usually consisted of levitation increasingly heavy objects around themselves in an effort to maintain concentration, and also long periods of meditation.

Edward yawned loudly as they walked down the halls of the Jedi Temple towards the open balcony where they usually sparred. Alphonse eyed him sternly.

"You pulled another all-nighter last night, didn't you, Brother?"

"What of it?"

"Ed, I don't need sleep anymore, but you still do. You can't keep doing this, you'll wear yourself out."

They passed Atris, who glared at the two but didn't say anything. Edward, knowing that Master Bindo was friends with Revan, was of the opinion that the former had threatened to sic the latter on Atris if she made any trouble with the boys. After all, anyone in their right mind would be terrified of fighting with a former Dark Lord of the Sith, be it verbally or physically.

Edward resisted the urge to give Atris the finger as he passed her, deciding it would be best if he didn't. He ignored her and turned around a corner, emerging on their balcony. Master Izumi was leaning casually against the railing, chatting lightly with Master Bindo.

"Master Izumi?" Edward said. Izumi looked up.

"Ah, there you are," she said, picking up their sparring swords and handing them to the brothers. "Ready to start?"

Edward nodded, stifling a yawn. Izumi arched an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night," Edward said. "Is Master Bindo going to be watching us?"

"Oh, don't mind me," Bindo said, lightly. "I won't get in the way."

"No, I don't mind," Edward responded. "I was just wondering." He moved to one end of the balcony, while Alphonse moved towards the other end. There was momentary pause before the two began their sparring match.

As they fought, Master Izumi gave them pointers on their stances, parries, attacks, and blocks. Edward was more used to blasters than swords, so he generally got the bulk of the pointers. Today he got more than usual due to his weariness. Finally, Alphonse managed to pin Edward against the railing.

Izumi called off the fight. "Ed," she said, "the first thing I want you to do now is go and get some rest. After you're well-rested, we will begin your Padawan Trials."

"Already? I thought the initial training took years!"

"Normally, it does. However, I have been pushing you two for a reason. Although many of our lessons take years to fully comprehend, given the current situation—"

"You guys keep saying that. What's the 'current situation'?"

"Revan and Charisma returned from the Unknown Regions for a reason. The Sith, the True Sith, are mounting an invasion. That is why your training has been accelerated. We need as many fully-trained Jedi as we can get, and fast."

"There's… a war coming?" Edward asked, quietly.

Izumi nodded. Edward scoffed.

"So that's why Revan was so desperate to recruit me to the Jedi…" he said. "Guess I can't blame her."

"She was fighting on the front lines for nine years, alone for the first four of that. Now that the True Sith are coming here, she will need all the help she can get."

Edward nodded. "Yeah. I understand."

"Now, go get some sleep. You need it."

Edward nodded and left, collapsing into bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

* * *

"There are three trials an apprentice must pass to attain the rank of Padawan," Izumi explained the following day. "First, you must recite the Jedi Code."

"That's it? Sounds easy," Edward commented.

"It should be, considering I've practically drilled it into your heads. Shall we get started?"

Edward and Alphonse nodded.

"Finish each line after I start it: 'There is no emotion.'"

"'There is peace,'" The brothers finished, in tandem.

"'There is no ignorance.'"

"'There is knowledge.'"

"'There is no passion.'"

"'There is serenity.'"

"'There is no chaos.'"

"'There is harmony.'"

"'There is no death.'"

"'There is the Force.'"

"Well done," Izumi said, smiling. "The second trial is to build your own lightsaber."

"Oh, I'm farkled on that one," Edward groaned. "I'm horrible at building things. Where's Winry when you need her?"

"Every Jedi must build his lightsaber with his own hands. But that doesn't mean I can't help you," Izumi told them, a sly note in her voice.

"…Is that allowed?"

"It's discouraged."

"...Uh… thanks."

"There are three Jedi classes…"

"Yeah, Dad already told us about them."

"But each class has a symbolic colour that represents it. Jedi Guardians typically carry blue lightsabers. Sentinels usually carry yellow lightsabers. Consulars carry green lightsabers."

"But…Dad's a Guardian, and his lightsaber is yellow. I saw him working on it on Winry's spare workbench when we were on Risembul. The crystal he used was yellow."

"A Jedi doesn't have to use the colour assigned to their class," Izumi clarified. "The colour is just a symbol of that class. As your father once put it, a Jedi Guardian can carry the blade of a Consular and still be a Guardian, and perhaps even fool their enemies into thinking they are a Consular. Or, you don't have to use the Class colours. There are plenty of others available. Charisma carries a Viridian blade and a silver blade, while Revan uses a crystal called Mantle of the Force, which creates a cyan blade. Malak uses Mantle of the Force's brother, Heart of the Guardian, which produces an orange blade. My own lightsaber is pale violet. You see my point?"

Edward nodded. "So, how many different colours are there?"

"At least two dozen."

"Wow…"

Izumi withdrew a pouch from her robes. "First, I need you to pick a class. Then you can select a crystal for your lightsabers."

Edward thought for a moment. "Sentinel," he said after a minute.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Al?"

"Sentinel," Alphonse said, immediately.

"That was fast," Edward muttered.

Izumi smiled and emptied the contents of the pouch onto the table between them. "Choose one."

Several dozen crystals of many colours, ranging from various shades of blue to red, lay scattered on the table's surface. Edward stared at them in wonder. "Whoa…"

Alphonse sifted through the many crystals and came out with a deep blue gem. "I like this one," he stated. Izumi nodded. Edward went through the crystals and found two: a red one and a yellow one.

"You only need one," Izumi observed.

"But what if I want two lightsabers?" Edward asked with a smirk.

"Bold. Fair enough."

Izumi then detailed how a lightsaber was built, and helped them construct their own. When they were done, Edward could not stop started at the pair of silvery hilts in his hands. He had never imagined having his own lightsaber. Perhaps stealing one from someone else out of desperation, but never having one of his own.

"Something wrong, Brother?" Alphonse asked.

"No, it's just… all this time I've hated the Jedi… I never thought I would be one myself…"

"Gives you some perspective, doesn't it?" Izumi said. Edward nodded. "Now, for your third task. I'd like you both to wait before you attempt it, as it will require all of your strength."

"What is it?"

"The third task always tests your strength of will against the Dark Side. It is different for every apprentice, as the task usually involves situations that have come up in recent days. In your case, there has been some rather unusual activity in a warehouse near the Temple. The odd thing about the warehouse it that it is strong in the Dark Side—some Jedi have gone in and haven't come back out."

"And…that's what you want us to do?" Edward asked, incredulously.

"No, the Council wants you two to investigate it. I'm dubious, myself. I think it was Atris's idea, personally."

Edward laughed. "She would do something like that."

"You two should go get some rest now. Tomorrow will be a long day."

* * *

"Is this it, Brother?"

"Looks like it."

The brothers stood before a large, stout building near the Jedi Temple. A feeling of utter wrongness pervaded the area, much like the one they had felt when Scar had ambushed them. Edward's eyes darted around nervously.

"Well, no sense wasting time," he said, swallowing. "Let's go."

The warehouse was dark, even though it was still daylight. Pipes and large, ribbed tubing wound their way across the ceiling and walls. The sound of hissing steam could be heard. Edward glanced around, still nervous.

"We should split up. Cover more ground," Edward said. Alphonse nodded, and turned off to the left, his new lightsaber clutched in his right hand. Edward veered to the right.

Alphonse's eyes scanned the area around him warily. Something was unsettling him, but he wasn't sure what it was.

Out of the blue, his face was blasted by hot steam. He reflexively raised his hands to protect it. When the steam dissipated, the skin had melted off his hands and about a third of his face. He lowered his hands slowly, only to be ambushed by a shapely woman with long, wavy black hair and slitted violet eyes, in a long black dress. He quickly ignited his lightsaber to block her own crimson blade.

"A cyborg," the woman purred. "Interesting."

"Who're you?" Alphonse said, backing up.

"I am LU-57. You may call me 'Lust.'"

* * *

Edward could not shake the feeling of unease running through him as he cautiously explored the opposite side of the warehouse. He was not sure what was causing the feeling, except for the Dark Side aura that permeated the warehouse.

Just as abruptly as Alphonse had been ambushed, Edward found himself under attack. He rolled out of the way, causing his opponent's lightsaber to embed itself in the ground.

"What the frack was that for!" Edward demanded, igniting his lightsabers and flipping to his feet.

"Oh, nothing in particular," his assailant said, smirking. His voice was too high to be a man's, but still too low to be a woman's, and his tone was arrogant. "You just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." He was scantily dressed, with a tattoo on his left thigh of a winged snake around a hexagram. His hair was long, dark, and wild.

"And who're you?" Edward growled.

"3N-VY. 'Envy', if you prefer." 3N-VY lunged again. Edward barely dodged him. 3N-VY kneed him in the gut, and Edward fell to his knees, winded. "You know," 3N-VY said, dragging the tip of his lightsaber down Edward's left arm and causing him to cry out in pain, "you Jedi are too nosey for your own good. Your father was the same way before he fell." He said the word "father" with contempt stinging his voice. Edward thought he detected a metallic edge to 3N-VY's voice as well. He coughed as 3N-VY moved the lightsaber to his throat.

"What…what's with the designation? You're human, aren't you?"

"Whoever said I was?" A manic gleam came to 3N-VY's eyes. A very familiar manic gleam.

"Oh Force… you're a cyborg!"

* * *

Alphonse and LU-57's blades met in mid-air, crackling with energy. Alphonse parried LU-57's blow and swiped at her neck, singing off part of her skin with the tip of his blade. Metal was visible where the skin had been burned off.

"You…you're like me!" Alphonse exclaimed, stumbling backwards.

"Took you that long to figure out? I heard you were smarter than that." She smirked. "My… companion should be taking care of your brother right… now."

Alphonse's eyes widened. "Brother!" He scrambled around and head in the opposite direction. LU-57 laughed quietly.

"Just don't forget… we let the two of you live."

* * *

Alphonse found Edward lying unconscious and bleeding on the ground. There was a long, bloody tear in the left sleeve of Edward's coat, burned at the edges as though by a lightsaber. He lifted his brother's head in his arms. "Brother? Ed!"

"Edward! Alphonse!" A somewhat familiar, deep voice called.

"Wh—who's there!" Alphonse called back.

"It's Mustang! Where are you two!"

"Follow my voice!" Alphonse called. He was beginning to feel weary; his energy reserves were running low. He leaned his head against Edward's, what remained of his false skin contorted in agony. Footsteps sounded nearby. His vision blurred, and he barely made out Roy Mustang's outline and the orange glow of his lightsaber before his body shut itself down.

* * *

**A/N:** Pleeease forgive me to L337-izing the Homunculi's names O.o;; It was the quickest way to create alpha-numerical designations for them. –DJP 


	10. Chapter 9: Masterhood

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 9: Masterhood**_

Soft sounds reached Edward's ears as he slowly regained consciousness. Groaning, he let his eyes flutter open, still dazed and confused.

"Brother?" Alphonse's voice said. Edward turned to the right, spotting his younger brother near the window. He tried to move his robotic arm to push himself up and failed as pain shot through it. Alphonse darted over to Edward and hugged him. "Oh, Brother, I was so worried!"

"I'm okay, Al," Edward muttered, returning the hug with his one mobile arm.

"Hey, Ed," a familiar voice said. As Alphonse let go of Edward, he spotted Mira sitting nearby.

"Hey," he responded.

"You okay?"

"My right shoulder feels like it's been dislocated, and my arm stopped working during the fight."

Mira nodded. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Can you send a message to Winry Rockbell on Risembul for me?"

"Yeah, sure, who's she?"

"My mechanic."

"Okay. I'll be back." Mira stood and left. Edward sighed, eyeing the damage to Alphonse's body.

A whole chunk of the skin on Alphonse's face and neck had been melted off, revealing several plates of cortosis alloy and wires. Alphonse was wearing his coat, though it was unbuttoned, but the damage done to his hands and arms was still visible as well.

"What happened to you, Al?" Edward asked quietly.

"One of them blasted me with a steam vent."

Edward sighed. "How long have I been out?"

"I don't know. I ran out of power shortly after I found you. I do know that Roy Mustang rescued us. We'd probably be dead if it weren't for him."

Edward let out a low growl, but didn't say anything. Noises sounded from outside. Edward sat up with a concentrated effort and listened to the commotion.

"Let me pass, droid, this does not concern you," Atris's voice said.

"Refusal: I cannot. My master has instructed me not to let anyone that she does not trust to see the Meatbag brothers."

"I don't care what your master said to you. You will let me pass. I am a Master of the Council!"

Alphonse stood as the sound of a blaster cocking reached their ears and walked to the door, opening it. Master Atris stood out in the hall, arguing with a tall, corroded coppery droid brandishing a blaster rifle.

"Statement: Ah. One of the Meatbag Brothers. Query: May I blast the Meatbag Jedi for you?"

"Uh… no," Alphonse said, nervously. "What's your designation?"

"Statement: I am HK-47, at your service. Until my Master returns, at least."

"And… who is your Master?"

"Answer: Why, Revan, of course."

Edward raised an eyebrow at this. Alphonse sighed.

"What do you want, Master Atris?"

"This is your fault," Atris said, without preamble.

"Uh… what?"

"Master Grand is dead," Atris snarled. "Murdered by the Mandalorian Sith who attacked you in the docking bay. If you had not let him go, this would not have happened!"

"L—Let him go! Master Atris, Ed and I were injured, and he was too faster for Canderous or Father to catch! There was nothing to be done!"

"That doesn't change anything!"

"Why not! It wasn't our fault!"

"Master Atris!" A voice said. Atris turned to stare at Revan, who was standing behind her with her hands on her hops. She was wearing blue Jedi robes, and double bladed lightsaber tied to her waist.

"What do you want?" Atris demanded.

"You really should listen to a combat droid when he denies you access to a room," Revan said, lightly. "Especially if he was built by a former Dark Lord of the Sith and has killed many, many Jedi."

"Was that a threat?"

"Nope. Just stating a fact. I left HK by their door for a reason, you know."

"And what was that?" Atris asked, scathingly.

"So pretentious schuttas like yourself couldn't get in there and star harassing them about something they had no control over," Revan shot at her. "You never get it, do you? You can't blame a person's children for something they did. Just because Hohenheim followed me to the Dark Side, doesn't mean Ed and Al will fall too. You fell to the Dark Side, yourself, because of all your anger towards the Exile. She saved you out of the kindness of your heart, and you still hate her for a choice she made fifteen years ago! People change, Master Atris, but you want to believe everyone's personality is static and unchanging, like you seem to be!"

"How dare you… You are still a Knight, how dare you speak to a Master like that!" Atris said, her voice shaking.

"Maybe I won't be for much longer," Revan said, with a smirk. "Masters Bindo, Mical and Hakuro have nominated me to replace Master Grand."

"You! You would lead us all to darkness!"

Revan scoffed. "Do I have to smack you?" You don't get it! And you never will. Get out of here, or I swear I'll let HK blast you to pieces."

Atris scowled. "I will not let you join the Council." She wheeled around and stormed off. Revan entered the Elric's room just as Mira arrived. Mira nodded at her.

"Ahh, Ed, you're awake," Revan noted. "Both of you were out cold when Roy found you."

"So I was told. That was an impressive tirade back there."

"Thanks, I try," Revan grinned.

"Are you really up for Master Grand's seat on the Council? That would put you in charge of the entire Order, right?"

"Yep."

"Do you want the seat?"

"I'm not sure. If I took it, it's possible that Charisma could be accepted back into the Order. Officially, I mean. I know she desperately wants to be a part of it again. Exile was hard on her. And she's my friend, so I'd feel somewhat obligated to try."

"Well, good luck with that." Edward leaned back into his pillow. "Where's Master Izumi?"

"She's investigating what's left of the warehouse."

"What's left of it?"

"Yeah. It was destroyed a few hours after Roy rescued you."

"By who!"

"Dunno. People are saying that it was Roy, but that's not the case. He was here at the hospital with you two when it was destroyed. More than likely it was whoever you encountered in there."

"Why do they think it was him?"

"Oh, he has that reputation," Revan responded, easily, shrugging.

"How do you mean?"

Revan grinned. "They call him 'The Flame Colonel' in the Fleet, you know."

"Why?"

"There appear to be several reasons. The first is that he likes flamethrowers. Especially if he gets to used them against his enemies."

Edward gaped at her. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. The second is that he survived a very fiery accident a few years ago. Most were of the opinion that he caused it."

"And… is there a third?"

"Oh yeah. Have you seen his aura?"

"No, I never really paid attention to it when I first met him."

"It's like fire. There are many Force Adepts among the Republic Navy. They've probably noticed it."

"Anything else?"

"His lightsaber is orange."

Edward laughed.

"So you can see how this would perpetuate his reputation."

Edward nodded. "How long have we been out?"

"Five days."

"Wow. That long?"

"Your body probably put itself into a healing trance. The wound on your arm's pretty bad… what happened?"

"Fracking 3N-VY—One of the cyborgs we encountered in the warehouse—dragged the tip of his lightsaber down it."

"Cyborgs?" Revan said, her face registering shock.

"Yeah. I encountered one named 3N-VY… Al, you fought one, right?"

"Yeah… she was designated LU-57," Alphonse answered.

"This is…disturbing. I'll have to report this to the Council," Revan muttered. "Anyway, it looks like the wound's scarred over, but it also looks like it could reopen if you're not careful. Don't be too hard on it." Revan stood up. "I'm going to tell the Council about what you guys saw. Get some rest." She left.

"I sent the message to your mechanic," Mira told Edward after Revan was gone.

"Thanks Mira," Edward said. "I appreciate it."

"It's no problem. You're in no condition to be out of bed. "Get some rest. You'll need it."

* * *

Two days later, Winry arrived on Coruscant via shuttle. Mira met her in the docking bay and took her to the hospital were Edward and Alphonse were staying.

Edward was in a healing trance when she arrived, Alphonse seated beside his bed. Winry froze when she saw Alphonse.

"…Al?"

"Hi Winry."

"What the frack happened to you!"

"Keep it down, Winry, Ed's in a healing trance right now. We were attacked during our third Padawan Trial."

"Yeah, but… how did you lose so much skin?"

"Steam vent."

Winry scowled. "I don't have the material to fix it. I was only expecting to have to fix Ed's arm."

"I can get it for you," Mira volunteered. "They keep artificial skin for graftings here."

Winry raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no, I can't—"

"It's no problem," Mira said.

"Oh… well… I guess, just… don't do anything illegal."

"Don't worry about me," Mira said with a wink, disappearing from the room.

Winry sighed an sat down on the other side of Edward's bed. Edward opened his eyes.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi."

"My arm stopped working. Feels like I've dislocated my shoulder."

"Why were you in a healing trance?"

"I was injured in… other… ways too."

Mira came back in carrying a crate of artificial skin. She set it on a chair, then flopped down into the one beside it.

"Thanks," Winry said to her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bolt. "Uh… this is probably why your arm stopped working. I forgot one of the bolts."

"…You forgot one of the bolts!" Edward said, shocked. "That's a new one."

"I was tired! You made me pull three all-nighters reconstructing that arm!"

"I was willing to wait! Auntie Pinako was the one who said to have it ready in three days!"

Winry sighed. "On your stomach."

"Eh?"

"Roll onto your stomach so I can fix your arm."

"Oh." With some amount of difficulty he rolled on to his stomach, wincing in pain as his left arm strained. Winry took out her tools and began to work on his mechanical arm. Edward closed his eyes and re-immersed himself in his healing trance while she worked.

After a few hours, Winry finally finished with Edward's arm. "Okay, I'm done," she said, sitting back down.

Edward rolled onto his back, flexing his right arm. "Thanks," he said.

Winry nodded and moved over to Alphonse. Mira got out of the way as she retrieved some of the artificial skin and began to graft it onto Alphonse's face.

It had been morning when Winry arrived; when she finished working on Alphonse, it was dusk. Winry wiped off her brow.

"I'm done ," she said. "That skin needs to mend together with everything you didn't lose, so I won't be able to remove those stitches for a while."

"Thanks Winry," Alphonse said.

"Of course. Be more careful next time, okay?"

The door banged open and Izumi swooped down on Alphonse, hugging him fiercely, and then doing the same with Edward. When she broke away from him, she clasped his face in her hands.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Edward answered.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Uh, okay…"

"You had no control of the situation."

"Right… is something wrong, Master?"

Izumi rubbed her temples. "The Council might not pass you on that last trial. They say that Roy shouldn't have helped you."

"But…we would have died if he hadn't!" Alphonse protested.

"I know, I know…" Izumi sighed. "It's another of Atris's attempts to keep you out of the Order. But some of the Masters agree with her this time!"

"That stupid schutta!" Edward yelled.

Izumi silenced him. "They won't make a decision until someone replaces Master Grand, though."

"Revan, right?"

"She's not the only one up for the position. Two other Jedi Knights have been nominated by the other Council members."

"Who?"

"Not sure. Revan doesn't know who they are either."

"Uhm… Ed?" Winry began, timidly. "Who's she?"

"She's our Master. Master Izumi, this is Winry Rockbell. We grew up with her."

Izumi turned and stared at Winry hawkishly, while Winry stared up at her, very fightened. Finally, Izumi smiled and offered Winry her hand. "A pleasure, Miss Rockbell."

"Uh, thanks…" Winry said, shaking Izumi's hand.

Edward swung his legs over the bed and started to push himself off of it. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor, panting.

"Are you okay!" Winry asked, rushing over.

"Force dammit! Goddamn scar!" He was clutching at his left arm.

"Get back into bed, Edward," Izumi said, sternly.

"Master, I don't want to just hang around here until I heal up. I need to be up and moving… I don't like just laying here."

"Then find some way to keep your left arm immobile."

"…Anyone got a sling?"

* * *

The Jedi Temple was largely quiet when they arrived, in reverence to the fallen Master Grand. The funeral had been held the previous day, while Edward was still healing, but still the Jedi mourned in their detached, unemotional way.

Edward and Alphonse found their way back to their room in and stayed there in silence for a moment. Edward reached onto the nightstand for a datapad that had been lying there and stared at it for a while.

"Ed…?" Winry asked softly.

Edward tossed her the datapad. "My journal from training. None of it will matter if the Council doesn't pass us, though."

"Why doesn't the Council want to pass you?"

"You heard Master Izumi… they said Roy Mustang shouldn't have helped us. It's complete bullshit, of course. Luckily, I don't think the entire Council agrees with Master Atris. She's the one who wants to fail us…"

"What happens if they fail you?"

"…We'll be booted out of the Order."

Winry's shoulders slumped. "But… you worked so hard to get here…"

"I know," Edward muttered. "I hope Revan is voted to the Council. She likes us… she'd probably vote in our favour."

"Master Bindo likes you both as well, so I think you can count on his vote as well," Izumi said. "And I believe Master Mical still feels indebted to you for helping the Exile on Nar Shaddaa all those years ago."

"Who was the other Master who nominated Revan?"

"Hakuro. I don't know how he feels about you guys. With the others, it's just a matter of convincing them that you did the best you could, given the circumstances. You won't be able to argue for yourselves, but I will do my best to convince them. It should've been up to me, anyway…"

Edward nodded. "Guess you're right. Ah, why am I worrying? They can't all hate us."

* * *

"Can you hear anything, Al?"

"Barely…"

Edward and Alphonse knelt in the ante-chamber off of the Council chamber, their ears pressed against the wall in an effort to learn what was going on in the meeting.

The Council was voting on who would replace Master Grand, and Edward, for one, wanted to know how it came out. Sadly, he couldn't hear what was going on at all, and Alphonse was having only slightly better luck.

"Eavesdropping, boys?"

Edward turned to face Hohenheim with only a small amount of contempt on his face.

"Just want to know what's going on, that's all," he said.

"Nothing wrong with that," Hohenheim agreed. He knelt behind Alphonse and pressed his own ear to the wall, frowning slightly.

"I don't think you're going to have anymore luck than we did," Edward said.

"Shhh," Hohenheim hissed. "…Dammit! That was cruel!"

"What was?"

"The other two candidates are Bastila Shan and Juhani… Revan's like a sister to them, and they're the same to her."

"Wait a sec…! How'd you—!"

Hohenheim tapped the ear that wasn't pressed against the wall. "Using the Force," he said, with a wink. "Now, shush." There was a small pause, then Hohenheim said, softly, "Okay… Revan's got five votes so far… Bastila has two… and Juhani has two." Another pause. "Two more for Revan… three…" Hohenheim's brow creased. "Ah. Knew she'd do that…"

"Atris's vote?"

"Bastila."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"What Atris doesn't know is the both Bastila and Juhani fell to the Dark Side like Revan did. She would've have voted for either if she had. Hypocrite. Two more for Revan… That's it. She's got majority."

"What?"

"She's been voted to the Council."

Edward breathed a sigh of relief. Revan emerged from the Council chamber with Bastila Shan and a Cathar woman (most likely Juhani) in tow.

"A ha," she said. "Look girls, we had eavesdroppers." She grinned at Hohenheim, who grinned back.

"You'll forgive us, Master, but we had to know."

"Ah yes, the brothers have a lot riding on the next Council vote," Revan said. "Don't worry. It's only Atris who thinks you shouldn't pass."

"However, there is a risk that she could convince the other Masters that she is right," the Cathar woman said, soberly.

"Mmm, exactly my point, Juhani. Sadly, you two won't be there when the Council decides. It doesn't make sense to me, but, the rules are the rules. Master Izumi will be there, though. I wouldn't worry about it too much… The other Council members aren't stupid. They know she's only trying to keep you out of the Order. The schutta. I'm surprised she's still on the Council."

"Revan!" Bastila scolded.

"Bas, you know it's the truth. Anyway, I feel like celebrating."

"I sense a party," Hohenheim commented.

"You read my mind," Revan responded. "You guys are invited of course."

"Uh, thanks," Edward said.

"Give us a couple of days, you'll get a message with the exact date and time. Good luck; I know you'll pass."

* * *

While Edward slept, the Council had a short meeting about his and Alphonse's Padawan Trials. There was really nothing to talk about; only one other Master agreed with Atris. Hohenheim listened in on the meeting again and left a note for the brothers telling them that they were now Padawans and to be at Revan's party in a week at 20.00H.

"Well, that's a relief," Edward said when he read his father's note. "How did he learn that little trick anyway?"

"What little trick?" Master Izumi asked.

"Using the Force to amplify his hearing."

"It's actually something I taught him early on. He's able to enhance all of his senses the same way… Sight, smell, touch, taste…"

"Huh. Interesting."

"It appears the Council wasn't as gullible as I thought it might be," Izumi continued. "Atris only managed to convince one Master out of nineteen others."

Edward sighed and raked a hand through his hair, which was currently out of its braid. "Well, that's over with, at least…"

"I hear Revan's having a party to celebrate her Masterhood."

"Yeah. She invited us."

"Are you going?"

"Dunno…"

"You should. Take your ladyfriend with you."

"…You mean Winry? Why?"

"You should take love when you find it."

Edward blushed furiously. "I'm not—"

"No? I can tell you how she feels about you, and she has a little more than friendship on her mind. Judging by the way you're blushing, you feel similarly."

"I—Master, I'm blushing because… because I've known her for as long as I can remember, and the idea is—well, frankly, disturbing. And kinda scary."

"Scary? How?"

"…You haven't seen her when she's angry, Master. She's scary. …So are you."

Izumi laughed. "Thanks, I try."

Edward sighed. "Still… Al doesn't really plan on going. He's too introverted to enjoy it…"

"And, if anything, you're an extrovert. Go to the party with Miss Rockbell. You'll enjoy it."

* * *

The night of the party was cool and clear. Or, as clear as a Coruscant night can get. Edward and Winry arrived at 20.05H and were greeted by a young, blue Twi'lek woman and her Wookiee companion.

"Oooh, you must be one of the Elric Brothers," the Twi'lek chirped, in Basic.

"Uh… how'd you know?" Edward asked, startled.

"That symbol around your neck. Where's your brother?"

"He's not comfortable at social gatherings, so he's back at our ship. I'm Ed."

"Mission Vao," the Twi'lek greeted, offering her hand. Edward shook it. "This is my best friend Zaalbar. Who's your girlfriend?"

Edward and Winry both blushed. "She's not my girlfriend," Edward said.

"Oh, sorry, my mistake. What's your name?" She asked Winry.

"Winry Rockbell."

"Cool. Well, come on in, Revan's waiting." Mission stood aside, and they entered Revan's apartment.

The lights were dim, and there was jazz music playing in the background. Revan approached them, looking stunning in a shimmering violet dress.

"Hey there!" She greeted. "Where's Al?"

"He's an introvert."

"Ah. Doesn't like social situations?"

"Not at all."

"I see. And who's this lovely young lady?"

Winry blushed at the compliment. "Winry Rockbell, ma'am."

"Glad you could come. Hope you have fun." She almost glided off to talk to the other guests.

Edward helped himself to a Corellian Brandy and sighed.

"Don't drink too much, Ed," Winry cautioned.

"I won't, don't worry," Edward assured her, lightly.

A few moments later, a tall, black haired man in a crisp suit with a patch over his left eye approached them. Edward raised an eyebrow at him.

"You would be Edward Elric, correct?" The man asked.

"Who wants to know?" Edward returned.

"My name is Bradley," the man said, smiling. "I hear good things about you from Revan and several of the other Council members."

"But not from Atris, I bet… Wait a sec!"

Bradley simply smiled at him.

"You're the Chancellor!" Edward exclaimed.

Bradley's smiled widened slightly. "Astute. I didn't even have to tell you." He chuckled.

Edward felt somewhat faint. "To what do I owe the honour, sir?"

"No particular reason, really. Revan invited me, and she said you would likely be here as well. I've been interested to meet you for a while now."

"I… I don't know what to say, sir, I'm honoured."

"What's wrong with your arm?" Bradley asked, gesturing at Edward's left arm.

"Oh… I ran into a Dark Jedi during my Padawan Trials. The bastard dragged the tip of his lightsaber down the length of my arm. It's not healed yet."

"Well, I hope it heals up well. Enjoy yourself." Bradley went off to talk to Revan.

Edward seated himself and rested his left arm on the armrest, sipping his brandy. Winry seized one for herself and downed it.

"Uh… might want to take your own advice there…" Edward said.

Winry scowled at him. "I won't have that many."

Several hours and many drinks later, the two had somehow staggered back to Edward's room in the Jedi Temple. Edward was laughing a little.

"Ohh, we promise we wouldn't drink too much," Winry giggled, leaning against one of the walls. Edward leaned over her, his face close to hers. "What're you doing?" Winry slurred, her eyes half-closed.

"Nothing…"

"Ed, you're drunk."

"So're you." His lips met hers, and he gently steered her towards the bed…

* * *

Edward awoke the next morning with a massive hangover. He groaned and opened his eyes and was immediately greeted by a slap to the face and Winry's angry visage.

"Owww," Edward groaned. "What was that for!"

"For taking advantage of me last night!" Winry yelled at him.

"W…What! Hey, you were just as willing as I was!"

"I was drunk! I can't believe you would do this, Ed!" She hit him again, the got out of the bed and dressed. "I don't ever want to see you again!  
She yelled.

"Winry, wait!"

She stormed out of the room before Edward could stop her. A tear slid down his cheek and he flopped back onto the pillow and buried his head into it, crying openly.


	11. Chapter 10: The Araim Crystal

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 10: The Araim Crystal**_

Edward found himself in an emotional rut that day. He spent most of his time with Alphonse, on _Trisha's Curse_.

"I fracked up, Al," Edward said, miserably. "She hates me now."

"Oh, Ed," Alphonse said. "She doesn't hate you. She's just angry."

"Doesn't seem that way from my perspective."

Alphonse hugged Edward. "She'll calm down, Brother."

Edward returned his brother's embrace. "I hate this, Al…"

"I know, Brother."

"But… I still have you, right?"

"Of course you do, Ed! You're my brother! And you have Master Izumi, and Dad."

Edward smiled wryly. "I love you, Al. Nothing will change that. I love Winry too, but…"

"I love you too, Ed. I know Winry cares about you, she's just…"

Edward stood and paced the main hold. "She said, and I quote, 'I don't ever want to see you again!'"

"Maybe you should ask Master Izumi about it. She probably has an idea of what's going through Winry's head right now."

"Yeah… I'll ask…" He started to leave when Master Izumi entered the hold.

"There you are," she said. "How was the party, Edward?"

"A complete disaster."

"…That bad?"

"Well, not so much the party itself as what happened afterwards."

"What happened?"

"My relationship with Winry went down the tubes…"

Izumi gave him The Look. Edward sighed and told her what happened.

"I don't get why she's so angry… we were both drunk off our asses, one thing led to another, and…"

"You slept together."

"Yeah."

"She's ashamed," Izumi said, sensing what Edward was about to ask.

"What? Why? We've been friends for ages!"

"Women tend to be very particular about how, when, and with whom they lose their virginity. There are exceptions, of course, but I doubt Winry is one of them. Part of her reasons for being ashamed is probably because she was, as you so crudely put it, 'drunk off her ass'."

"So there's the 'how'. And the 'when'?"

"Not likely a factor, unless she would have preferred to wait until she was married. She's the same age as you, correct?"

"Yeah. And the 'with whom'?"

A thoughtful expression crossed Izumi's face. "The fact that it was you probably has a lot to do with it. She has probably thought of the two of you as brothers up until now. And now, to think of you, Ed, as a lover, possibly even a fiancée or husband in the future… It's a difficult transition to make. I have no doubt she's attracted to you, but because you grew up together, it's harder for her to accept those feelings."

"Great, so I just made things harder for her."

"It would seem so."

Edward clutched at his head. "I wanna apologize, but she doesn't want to see me, let alone speak to me!"

"Give her time. She just needs to sort through her emotions. I suspect she will come to find you when she is ready to talk."

* * *

Days passed with no contact from Winry. Edward had begun to fear that she had returned to Risembul and had half a mind to go after her. He eventually decided that he shouldn't, as it would only serve to anger her more.

Hohenheim sought Edward out a few days after his talk with Izumi, and Edward reluctantly agreed to the heart-to-heart his father wanted to have.

"So," Hohenheim said, "I hear you and Master Izumi had The Talk."

"I already knew about…" Edward stopped, going red. "You get the idea."

"No, her version of 'The Talk' is more about understanding the minds of women than anything else. All of her male Padawans have had it."

"Including you?"

"We had 'The Talk' after I met Trisha."

"Did you and Mom ever fight?"

"Oh yeah. Every couple has its spats. The more prominent fights in my memory occurred just before I left for the Mandalorian Wars, and again before I left for the Jedi Civil War. She didn't want me to fight in either, especially the Jedi Civil War."

"Because you were on Revan's side, not the Republic's."

"That was most of it, yeah." He closed his eyes. "She said Revan was evil, and that she would corrupt me to the Dark Side, and that I had a duty to you boys and to her. I think part of her was jealous as well…"

"She was right, you know. About all of it."

Hohenheim sighed. "I know. That was part of the reason I switched sides and helped Revan take out the Star Forge."

"And the other reason? Please say it was guilt."

"No, it was because Revan had switched sides."

Edward rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless."

"My point is," Hohenheim said, "if you ever have a girlfriend… a wife… there will be arguments. No relationship is perfect. And if Winry ends up being the one you want to spend your life with, this is just one rock to trip over."

"A rock? A ROCK? This is a fracking MOUNTAIN, old man!"

Hohenheim couldn't help but laugh at that. He put a hand on Edward's shoulder. Edward didn't shy away as he usually had in the past.

"Are you still made at me, Ed?"

"…Not so much anymore."

Hohenheim smiled. "I'm glad. It hurts to think that your oldest son hates you for doing your job."

"But that doesn't change the fact that Mom wasted away in your absence."

"I know it doesn't." Hohenheim stood up. "Take care of yourself. Winry won't stay mad forever. She'll forgive you, if you forgive her." He left.

Edward sat there for a moment. Suddenly, something Hohenheim had said months before came to mind, brought up again by his father's visit.

"_…After Revan saved Malak from the Dark Side aboard the Star Forge, she began looking for a way to regenerate Malak's jaw… She found a crystal that amplifies the user's Force abilities almost infinitely…_"

Suddenly feeling the need to distract himself from the ordeal with Winry, Edward stood and grabbed his coat. "Al, come on!"

Alphonse entered the main hold from the cockpit. "Where are we going?"

"Archives."

"But… only Masters are allowed into the Archives."

"Don't care. We need to look for something." He struggled to get into his coat, failed, and left it on a chair, adjusting his left arm in its sling. "Let's go."

They left _Trisha's Curse_ and headed for the Jedi Temple. Instead of going through the main entrance, they went around to the back and entered that way, using ventilation shafts to get into the cavernous archives without being detected.

"Uh, Brother? What are we looking for?"

"Force Amplifiers."

"…Why?"

"So I can make you human again."

"…What? Brother, no! I'm fine like this, I swear!"

"But I'm not, Al! It's my fault you're like this, and I should never have done it to you!" He wandered among the isles and spotted a datapad labelled "Araim Crystal, the".

"…Brother?"

Edward picked up the datapad and scanned it, his face slowly breaking into an expression of glee.

"This is it, Al! This is the Force Amplifier Dad told us about!"

"He also said not to look for it, Brother."

"I don't care, Al. If we find this… Araim Crystal, I can make you human again!"

"Brother, I'm fine this way, I told you."

"What I did was wrong, Al."

"You were grieving."

"Still wrong."

"Grief makes people do stupid things."

"Still wrong."

"…There's no dissuading you, is there?"

"Nope."

Alphonse side. "Let's go, before we're caught."

"AHEM."

Both brothers glanced behind them and blanched when they saw Master Atris looming over them menacingly.

"Uh oh," Edward muttered.

"You two are really pushing the line now," Atris said. "Padawans are not allowed in the Archives."

"We were just looking for something. We're leaving now."

"No, you're not." Atris moved to crab the collar of Edward's shirt, but he Force Pushed her away, then sped off with Alphonse.

* * *

When Edward returned to his room, he was surprised to find Winry waiting there for him. She was wandering around the room, examining the various possessions he kept there, and didn't seem to notice him.

"I thought you didn't want to see me again," he said, after a moment of watching her.

Startled, Winry turned to face him. "I… I changed my mind."

"Really?" He paused. "Well… well, good, 'cause… it really hurt when you said you didn't want to see me."

"I know… that was why I changed my mind…"

Edward set the datapad he had nicked from the Archives on his bed. "I owe you an apology… more than one, probably…"

"No, I should apologize… I… over-reacted, given the circumstances…"

"But I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that. I mean, it's always the male's fault in these kinds of situations."

"We were both drunk, Ed," Winry said, with a small giggle.

There was a long, awkward silence. Edward sat down on the bed. Winry sat next to him. "Winry…" He began after a while. "Agh, I've never been good at this… I guess… for a while I've been wrestling with my feelings… finding a girlfriend was the last thing on my mind… Until I saw you again on Risembul a few months ago. But… we've been friends for so long, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship, so I didn't say anything… I guess I messed up anyway." He scoffed. "Typical."

"…What're you trying to say, Ed?"

A pause.

"…I…I love you," Edward managed to choke out.

"You… you love me? But… what about that red-haired girl from the hospital? Isn't she your girlfriend?"

Edward laughed. "Mira? No! She was the one who taught me and Al how to survive on Nar Shaddaa and elsewhere. She's a friend and a mentor, nothing more."

"Oh… sorry, I just…"

"It's okay, Winry. I can see why you'd make that assumption."

"…You're a Jedi now, Ed… I thought Jedi weren't allowed to love."

"I don't agree with that rule, and I never will. Some of the Masters, including Master Izumi, are of the same opinion."

"Well… that's good, I guess…" She was silent for a moment. "I guess… I never thought that you actually…"

"Loved you? Is that why you flipped out? You thought I just… Come on, Winry! Gimme some credit here!"

Winry laughed a little. "It's hard to give an ex-smuggler any credit at all. I'm sorry, I'm just used to expecting the worst from guys. I've had some bad experiences back home. My last boyfriend was really only interested in one thing."

"You didn't…"

"Of course not!" Winry scolded him, going red. "I dumped him."

"Oh. Good." He hesitated. "Winry… I need to know… how you feel about me… if you need more time to think, or if… if you just want to keep being friends… it doesn't matter which, just…"

"No… I've had plenty of time to think about it, and I don't just want to be friends…"

Edward smiled. "So…"

"I love you too, Ed."

Edward hugged her, then kissed her. When they broke apart, Master Izumi was looming over them. Edward let out a startled yell when he spotted her.

"Gah! What is it with people looming today!"

"What's this I hear about you and Al sneaking into the Archives?" Izumi demanded.

Winry gave Edward a surprised look. Edward frowned.

"Did Al tell you that?"

"No, Atris did."

"Oh, well," Edward said, easily, "I wouldn't believe anything that schutta says if…"

"Edward Elric, I don't care why you were in there or what you took, but don't you dare lie to me!"

"Eep…"

Winry picked up the datapad sitting beside Edward. "Ed… what's this?"

"…That? Uh…"

"You were in the Archives," Izumi stated. "Let me see that."

Winry passed the datapad to Izumi. Izumi skimmed it, frowning.

"A word of advice, Padawan," She said, after a moment's pause. "Don't go looking for this."

"But—"

"This is the Crystal Revan used to regenerate Malak's jaw after the Jedi Civil War ended… The cost of making it is not worth its benefits." She turned and left. Edward sighed, somewhat relieved.

"I thought I was done for…"

"Ed… what is this? What're you trying to do?"

"…I wanna make Al human again. I shouldn't have done what I did to him. It was wrong."

"Does Al want you to?"

"…No, not exactly…"

"Then don't!"

"I can't live with myself, having done that to him!" He picked up the datapad. "I'm going to go to Korriban to look for more information on this Araim Crystal. You're welcome to come with if you want."

"If you think I'm letting you out of my sight after what happened at that warehouse, you're gravely mistaken. I'm coming."

"How did I know you'd say that? Alright, but I insist on giving you some pointers on fighting en route."

"Fine… I just want to make sure you don't do anything to yourself while you're there."

"I appreciate your concern, thanks." He kissed her and stood. "Better get ready. We're leaving tonight."

* * *

**A/N:** 69 typed pages and counting:)

I am officially finished writing the story out. Updates will be coming a lot faster now.

This is the Beginning of the End. ….Of course, the End now lasts 6 chapters and an epilogue. Mwahahaha. Things will be moving a little faster now—just thought I'd warn you.

Sorry if the romantic dialogue was a bit cheesy. I didn't mean it to be.

-DJP


	12. Chapter 11: The Cost of Living

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 11: The Cost of Living**_

Winry met Edward and Alphonse at _Trisha's Curse_ at 21.00H. Edward ushered her inside and instructed Alphonse to take off.

"I'm glad you two made up," Alphonse stated as they entered the cockpit. "It was painful, seeing Ed hurt like that."

"Sorry… I didn't mean to hurt either of you," Winry said, softly.

"Well, you obviously meant to hurt me a little," Edward said, with a small laugh, "otherwise you wouldn't have said some of the things you did."

Winry hit him in the stomach. "You know I didn't mean those things!"

"Hey, I was just kidding…" Edward muttered, groaning a little.

"How's your arm, Brother?"

"I think I can take it a out of the sling now," he said, doing so and flexing his left arm. "Ah, much better! I knew those healing trances would pull through."

Winry frowned, running a finger along the thick band of scar tissue that now covered the length of the wound. "Look at that scar, though…"

Edward shrugged. "It's not that big a deal."

They had just left the atmosphere of Coruscant at that point. Alphonse got them into hyperspace and leaned back in his seat.

"We'll be there in two days," he said, closing his eyes. "Although I'm a little uncomfortable with all this. We didn't even warn Master Izumi!"

"She would've stopped us if we had."

"Would that be such a bad thing, Brother?"

"Yes, Al. I already told you how I feel about all this."

Alphonse sighed.

"Al," Winry whispered.

"There's nothing I can do, Winry. He's too stubborn to listen to me," Alphonse whispered bacl.

Edward put a hand on Winry's shoulder. "Come on, Winry. Korriban's a dangerous place, and you know that I insisted on giving you pointers in combat."

Winry sighed. "Okay." She followed Edward out of the cockpit and into the Cargo Hold. Edward picked up a blaster on top of one of the crates and handed it to Winry.

"Take this." He walked over to the wall, removed one of his lightsabers form his belt and used it to draw a series of circles within circles, the smallest of them in the centre. He pointed at the smallest circle with the blade of his lightsaber. "Aim here." He then switched off his lightsaber and moved behind her as she took aim. Her hands were shaking. "Calm down. If your hands are shaking you aim will be off." He placed his hands over hers to steady them.

"Sorry," Winry said, shakily.

"Don't be, you're new to this. Pull the trigger."

She did. The shot hit between the two outermost rings, to the left of the centre.

"Try again. Aim towards the centre."

Winry adjusted her aim, then fired again. The shot landed farther to the right than before, but still far off from the centre.

"You adjusted too far. A little more towards the left this time, not too far though."

They continued in this vein for several hours, until Winry managed to hit the centre circle several times in a row. After that they stopped for the day.

"Nice job," Edward said. "We'll pick up tomorrow."

"Doing what?"

"Firing speed. Aim's better, but you're still slow to fire. You should be set by the time we get there." He sat on top of a crate.

"Why Korriban, Ed?" She asked, sitting on the floor next to him and leaning into his leg.

"It's a Sith world. There was an Academy there, near the Dreshdae settlement and the Valley of the Dark Lords. I'm hoping to find something on the Araim Crystal in their archives."

"What makes you think it's in there?"

"…The Jedi think it may be an artefact of the Dark Side." As Winry made a small noise, he added, "They don't know for sure, though."

"What will you do if it is?"

"…I don't know." He sighed.

"If it is… Ed, don't do it."

Edward glanced down at her.

"You said your father followed Revan to the Dark Side… Do you really want to go to that place?"

"No…" Edward muttered.

"Then please…" Winry begged. "If it is, and you find it, then… destroy it, or something, just don't use it!"

"How can a mere crystal drag me down to the Dark Side? It won't happen, Winry, I swear it."

Winry still looked uneasy. "I don't like this…"

"Don't like what?"

"Everything that's been happening… Something's not right… I don't know what, but… It's just not right."

* * *

"Dreshdae's in ruins," Edward noted as they flew over the Sith settlement. "Must've been from their little Civil War after Malak turned back to our side." 

"I can't land in the port," Alphonse said. "We'll have to fly to the Valley of the Dark Lords and enter the Academy through the back."

"The Valley of the Dark Lords? You've mentioned that before, what is it?" Winry asked.

Edward frowned. "See those statues?" he asked, pointing out the viewport at them. Winry nodded. "Well, the rock faces they're standing against have tombs cut into them. Big tombs. Belonging to ancient Sith Lords. Hence, the Valley of the Dark Lords."

"We're not… going in them, are… are we?" Winry stammered.

"Nope. They've long since been plundered."

Winry frowned. "You haven't changed a bit."

Alphonse set _Trisha's Curse_ down at the end of the Valley. They cautiously exited the ship, then hurried towards the Academy. Edward abruptly halted by Marka Ragnos's tomb.

"Brother? What's wrong?" Alphonse asked.

"…Dad's been in this one."

"I imagine he's been in all of them."

"No… I'm only getting his imprint here…" Edward closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was inside the tomb itself. Revan, looking haunted and depressed, was making her way down the ramp leading to the entrance. A beardless Canderous and a much younger Admiral Onasi followed her, looking beaten from some recent fight.

"_I see you took care of that pesky assassin droid," Hohenheim's voice said. Edward turned around to find his father barring the doorway of the tomb. He wore his usual black coat, loose off-white turtleneck, and black slacks, but his face was different. His skin was pale, golden eyes bloodshot, blond hair streaked with gray._

_Revan halted, a hand flying to her lightsaber._

_"There's no need for hostilities. That is, unless, you want a fight," Hohenheim stated. "Revan. It has been… almost two years, hasn't it?"_

_"How did he—" the then-Captain Onasi began._

_"Are you dense, Republic, or do you just not remember the Mandalorian Wars?" Canderous shot at Captain Onasi. "That's Hohenheim Elric, he was one of Revan's generals!"_

_Captain Onasi hissed at him. Hohenheim laughed._

_"Malak tried to keep the truth from me, knowing what I would do if I discovered that Revan was still alive. I found out anyway. You've switched sides, Revan."_

_A bead of sweat slid down the side of Revan's face. "I'm not Revan. Not anymore. My name… my name is Adrian Summers…"_

_Hohenheim laughed again. "You're lying to yourself. Light Side or Dark, you. Are. Revan. And you always will be. Running from that will not change anything."_

_Revan shook visibly. "What do you want? To stop us?"_

_"Hardly. I could care less about Malak. My loyalties lie with you, no matter which side you fight for. That's why he tried to keep the truth from me. He knew I would side with you regardless of which side you fought for."_

_Captain Onasi moved to say something, but Hohenheim held up a hand to stop him._

_"However, if you want my help stopping him, you must stop hiding from yourself."_

_"Embrace the Dark Side, you mean," Captain Onasi said, sourly._

_"Not necessarily. You could accept that you were…are…Revan, but that you have changed. You are still Revan… but you have changed. Which side you choose is up to you, and I will follow you, whichever path you take."_

_"Why are you doing this?" Revan asked quietly._

_"Malak was never able to command my loyalty the way you did. I only followed him because I thought you were dead. He tried to keep the fact that you were alive from me. Hell, he tried to keep it from everyone. I found out, though. When you arrived in Dreshdae I recognized you instantly. I knew then that I could no longer follow Malak."_

_Revan closed her eyes. "It's… Hohenheim, right? I'm…I have amnesia, I can't remember much about… about before. You…you have a family, right?"  
_

_"Clearly you remember something. Yes, I have a wife and two sons living on Risembul."_

_"Then why are you with the Sith!" Captain Onasi demanded. "Surely they—"_

_"My boys are too young for politics; they're only ten and eleven. Trisha didn't want me to defect but she didn't do much to stop me."_

_"How would she feel," Revan asked, "knowing that you had fallen to the Dark Side?"_

_"I suppose she would be upset," Hohenheim said. "But you didn't need to say anything, Revan. I told you, I'll follow you no matter which path you take." He turned and opened the door with a wave of his hand. "Good luck in the Academy's little competition. I'll see you back at your ship."_

The environment changed, and Edward was back outside of the tomb.

"Ed? Are you okay?" Winry asked, gripping his shoulder.

Edward shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's go." He continued towards the Academy. Alphonse and Winry glanced at each other, shrugged, then followed him.

_What was that about?_ Edward wondered, recalling the vision. _Nothing like that's ever happened before…_

As they entered the Academy, another vision greeted Edward. He stopped again.

_A man, with cracked, pale, and scarred flesh stood before Charisma Dantrah, Bao-Dur, and Mira._

_"How do you know Kreia?" Charisma demanded of the man._

_"I know her as an apprentice knows their Master," the main said, his deep voice echoing strangely. "And I know her as a Master knows their apprentice."_

_"What do you want?"_

_"I want her to suffer."_

_"I won't let you hurt her!" Charisma said. She ignited her viridian and silver lightsabers. Mira followed suit with her single green lightsaber and Bao-Dur with his double-bladed navy lightsaber._

_Charisma and the man fought, but no matter how many times Charisma hit the man, he always seemed to recover._

_:Do not fight: an elderly woman's voice said._

_:But—:Charisma's disembodied voice started to respond._

_:Sion is a master of pain. No matter how much you hurt him, he will recover. You are not ready for this. There will be another time. Run:_

_Charisma made a tremendous leap and bolted for the door, followed by Mira and Bao-Dur._

_The two assassins flanking the man moved to follow her. He stopped them._

_"Let her go. No harm must come to her."_

Edward shook his head rapidly.

"Ed, what's wrong?" Alphonse asked.

"Did… did you guys see that?" Edward asked.

"See what?"

"…Nevermind."

"Ed," Winry said, sternly.

Edward sighed. "I saw Mira, Charisma, and Charisma's boyfriend, Bao-Dur… and a man… I think he was named Sion. They fought. Charisma mentioned someone named Kriea… the man said something that made her doubt in Kreia. Kreia…from the way Charisma was getting all protective of her, Kreia… was important to her."

Alphonse shook his head. "I didn't see anything of the sort."

"Neither did I," Winry added.

"You saw something at the tomb too, didn't you?" Alphonse said, quietly.

Edward nodded. "Dad and Revan… with Canderous and the Admiral… Dad had just found out Revan was still alive and went to talk to her."

"Strange… are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get going." He started off again, finding the door to the Sith Archives. It was open, so Edward carefully stepped over the threshold. Alphonse followed closely, Winry keeping close to them in a fit of nerves. Edward rushed over to a terminal and began to try and get into the Archive.

"Winry, help me. The mainframe is damaged."

They set to work at the mainframe, while Alphonse kept watch."

"…Brother!"

Edward looked up, spotting two figures standing in the doorway.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," the shorter said. He had violet eyes and long black hair, and didn't look any older than nine or ten years old. "The Smugglers Elric. What brings you to Korriban?"

"Looking for something."

"Oh? A crystal? The Araim Crystal?"

"You won't find it here," the taller added. He had spiky black hair and work dark cargo pants and a jacket with a fur collar over a black shirt.

"We're just looking for information on it," Edward snarled.

"Oh?" The boy said. "Information? Do you know what it takes to make it?"

"No."

"Living. Souls," the boy sneered.

"A whole planet's worth," the taller added, a manic grin creasing his face.


	13. Chapter 12: Bitter Memories

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 12: Bitter Memories**_

"Information?" The black-haired boy said. "Do you know what it takes to make the Araim Crystal?"

"No," Edward said, hoarsely. His eyes narrowed. He did not trust these two.

"Living. Souls," The boy sneered.

"A whole planet's worth," the taller added, a manic grin creasing his face.

Edward and Winry gasped. Alphonse's face registered shock.

"Y—You're lying," Edward stammered.

"Check the archives, it's all in there," the boy said.

"Ed," Winry said, quietly, reading the information on the console she'd been working on, "he's right… it takes several thousand live souls to make a single crystal…"

Edward stared at the console. "That—no…"

"Unfortunately," the boy said, "we can't let you have it… now, or ever. Time for them to die, right, 6R3-3D?"

"I'd say so, WR4-7H," 6R3-3D agreed.

"Oh no…" Edward groaned. "Not more of you…"

"Oh that's right, you've already met 3N-VY and LU-57," WR4-7H said. "We aren't the last. There are three more. Call us Greed and Wrath."

WR4-7H activated a red shortsaber, while 6R3-3D activated an ordinary red lightsaber. Edward snarled and activated his two red and yellow lightsabers, while Alphonse activated his single blue lightsaber.

6R3-3D laughed. "This'll be so easy. They're so… green."

Edward snarled again and lunged at him, using the Force to enhance his movements. 6R3-3D parried Edward's blow, spun around and swiped at Edward. Edward ducked and attacked 6R3-3D's legs.

Alphonse, meanwhile, was not faring well against the small and quick WR4-7H. Grimacing, he undid his black coat and lifted a hand into the air. Several lightsabers flew into the air of their own accord, activating in various colours of blue, green, yellow, and violet.

"Where the Hell did you get those!" Edward shouted at him.

"Made them in my spare time," Alphonse called back, winking. The lightsabers flew at WR4-7H, who backed away slowly, blocking as many as he could. Alphonse advanced on him, smirking.

"That's quite a trump card your brother has," 6R3-3D said. "Wonder what yours is?" He attacked, and Edward raised his right arm and caught the blow. 6R3-3D's lightsaber flickered and deactivated.

"My trump card?" Edward smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously. "My prosthetics are a mixture of Cortosis, steel, and chrome. Primarily Cortosis."

6R3-3D made an odd noise that Edward suspected was a cyborg version of a snarl and lunged at him. Edward spun and struck multiple times. A carefully placed Force Push left 6R3-3D on his back. Edward leapt and drove his lightsabers into his chest. 6R3-3D began to convulse and finally was still, the light fading from his eyes.

WR4-7H glanced over at the unmoving 6R3-3D and frowned. "This is getting out of hand," he said. Alphonse narrowed his eyes and sent the sabers flying towards him. WR4-7H backflipped out of the way and fled.

Edward was panting as he stood up, staring down at 6R3-3D. Winry tackled him, relieved.

"I'm okay, Winry," he said.

"I know, but… that was a fracking awesome fight!" Winry proclaimed, grinning.

* * *

The three returned to Coruscant immediately, frantic to get away from Korriban's oppressive Dark Side aura. During the flight, Edward spent most of his time alone, debating mentally about the Araim Crystal.

There was a part of him—a big part—that was appalled at the idea of using something that cost thousands of innocent lives to make. His guilt over what he had done to Alphonse, present for the last five years, seemed to cloud his perception—he could not decide what to do.

It was night when they returned to the Jedi Temple. Edward returned to his room to find Master Izumi waiting for him. She glared at him.

"Do you not value any of my advice, Edward?" She demanded. Edward froze. "I asked you not to look for it."

"Master," Edward said, after a short pause, "when I sealed Al's soul to that cyborg, I was delirious with pain from having my prosthetics installed and maddened with grief. I should never have done it. A few months after it was done, when I was finally lucid again, I deeply regretted it. There was nothing I could do then, but there is now. If I can make things right… why shouldn't I try?"

"So you want to fix a mistake by making another mistake?" Izumi said, deathly quiet.

Edward didn't respond for a moment. "I have to try."

"What did you find on Korriban?" Izumi asked.

"…The Crystal is made from thousands of living souls," Edward said, quietly. He hung his head to hide his tears before he wiped them away.

"What did I tell you? The cost outweighs the benefit. It's not worth the effort."

"We also encountered two more of those… Homunculi? Is that what we're calling them?"

"Two more?" Izumi groaned. "How many are there?"

"Seven, apparently. Well, six now, I suppose, since I killed one."

"What were their designations?"

"WR4-7H and 6R3-3D."

Izumi clutched at the side of her head. "This is proving to be a huge headache. I will report this to the Council. Oh, you have a message, by the way." She left.

Edward raised an eyebrow, then went over to the console in his room, activating it and bringing up the message.

"_To the Smugglers Elric,_" a deep, unfamiliar voice said. "_If you wish to live, stay away from the Araim Crystal._" The message ended abruptly. Edward stared at the console.

"Shit."

* * *

The Jedi Temple was silent. Most of its inhabitants had gone to sleep.

Izumi sat away in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Something, she wasn't sure what, was keeping her from sleeping tonight.

She had to admit that Edward was starting to worry her. He was determined to make Alphonse human again, and his desire to use the Araim Crystal to do it was bordering on obsession. She had hoped he would cease his search for it after he found out about how it was made, but now he seemed determined to find an already-made crystal, or an alternative method of creating it.

Edward had come to see her again a few hours after their initial visit when he got back several days ago, to tell her of the threat he and Alphonse had received, and to tell her of the visions he had while on Korriban.

The visions disturbed Izumi as well. There seemed no connection between them other than the fact that the events Edward had seen had both occurred on Korriban.

Her thoughts lingered on the visions as she sought to discover why Edward had had them. She was brought out of her reverie, however, when a loud noise met her ears. She stood as the doors to the Room of a Thousand Fountains opened and Hohenheim stumbled through. Blood stained his coat and shirt around his shoulders and abdomen.

"Hohenheim!" Izumi rushed over to him as he collapsed in a heap, lifting his head and cradling him against her chest. "What happened?"

"I found… another Homunculus…" He muttered.

"Another? Who?"

"She…" he coughed. "She is designated…" A deep breath. "She is designated 5L0-7H."

Izumi frowned.

"She looked just like my Trisha…" Hohenheim muttered, before he passed out cold.

* * *

After Hohenheim returned to wakefulness in the nearby hospital, he requested ton see Edward and Alphonse so he could give them the news.

Needless to say, they did not react well.

"W—What?" Edward said, hoarsely, when Hohenheim told him about 5L0-7H. "One of them looks like… like Mom?"

Hohenheim nodded. "Sounded like her too. Same voice, same inflections… and she was the spitting image of her too… When I first saw her, I thought it was Trisha. No, I could've sworn it was Trisha… but I knew it wasn't, since she's dead…" He gave Edward a very serious look. The easy smile he usually wore was absent. "You didn't try to do to your mother what you did to Al, did you?"

"No! I—I thought about it, but…"

"Never went through with it? Are you sure?"

"Positive. I may have been delirious, but I was also exhausted from my first attempt and in pain. There was no way I could've done it in that state."

"But you could've done it afterwards."

"No. The moment I was lucid again, I instantly regretted binding Al's soul. I wouldn't have done the same thing again."

Hohenheim nodded. "Then someone else must've done it… someone who knew Trisha."

"I intend to find out," Edward said, standing up.

"How?"

"I'm going to look for the Araim Crystal. The two Homunculi I met on Korriban said that they didn't want us to find it. Chances are, the others don't either. If we look for it, we might be able to draw the others out… Including this… 5L0-7H."

Hohenheim's expression was unreadable. "Be careful, boys."

"We will. Don't worry about us, old man. Just rest up."

* * *

**A/N: **There's another reference to the original in this chapter. :) Sith cookies to whoever can catch it. --DJP 


	14. Chapter 13: Sleeping With Ghosts

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 13: Sleeping With Ghosts**_

_"The sea's evaporated  
Though it comes as no surprise  
These clouds we're seeing  
They're explosions in the sky  
It seems it's written  
But we can't read between the lines  
Hush, it's okay  
Dry your eyes_

…

_Soul-mates never die_"  
-"Sleeping With Ghosts", Placebo

"You're leaving again?" Winry asked. She was seated on top of a crate in the hangar bay where _Trisha's Curse_ was stored. Izumi sat on top of a crate beside her, her face expressionless.

"We're going to look for the Araim Crystal," Edward responded.

"But—!"

"Only to draw out the other Homunculi," Edward told her. "They don't want us to find it—if we start actively looking for it, they'll try to stop us. Then we can find out who created them and why, and hopefully destroy them."

"It's a sound plan," Izumi admitted. "I just wonder if you have ulterior motives, Edward."

"What? No."

"You're lying to me again."

"No, I'm not."

"If that's the case, then you're a horrible truth-sayer."

Edward laughed. "Maybe so, but I do swear that it's the truth." He began loading supplies onto _Trisha's Curse_.

"How long will you be gone?"

"Don't know. Depends on how many places we look at."

"If there was information on it in the Sith Academy on Korriban, perhaps they wanted to make it themselves," Izumi suggested. "You should look at the worlds they devastated… Telos, Taris, Dantooine, and Katarr would be good bets. Malachor Five would've been a possibility, but Charisma destroyed the planet to help seal the wound in the Force there. And I believe that Revan's version of the Araim Crystal was formed there… and she's already destroyed it."

"In that case, we'll probably be gone at least a week, probably more."

"I'm coming," Winry said.

"No. Too dangerous."

"Ed!"

"You could get killed, Winry, and I'm not taking that risk," Edward said, gripping her shoulders.

"I don't need protecting, Edward!"

"I know. But I still don't want you to go. Please, Winry."

Winry sighed. "Fine."

"Master, will you…?"

"Of course." Izumi laid a hand on Winry's shoulder.

"Thanks." He kissed Winry, then boarded the ship with Alphonse.

As the ship took off, Winry looked up at Izumi sadly.

"They'll be fine, don't worry," Izumi assured her.

Winry nodded, a single tear sliding down her cheek.

* * *

"Dantooine, huh? I'm surprised that anything's left alive after Malak bombed it," Edward commented, staring out the viewport in the cockpit of _Trisha's Curse_.

"I hear it's been prospering these days, actually," Alphonse responded.

Edward watched Dantooine approach, frowning. "I don't think we'll find it here. The attack on Dantooin was a physical one, not one through the Force. But we have to look."

They landed at Khoonda and found their way to the old Jedi Enclave. As they approached, a warm feeling rushed through Edward. He halted.

"That's odd…"

"What is, Brother?"

"Well, you wouldn't have felt it, but… I feel kinda warm. It was very cool out here before."

"Odd…"

They entered the Enclave sub-level and were greeted by the sight of Roy Mustang kneeling in the centre of a group of large fountains. As Edward approached him, the feeling of warmth increased. Mustang's eyes were closed.

"Hello boys," Mustang said, without opening his eyes. "Feeling better, Ed?"

"How'd you know it was us?"

"The two of you have very distinctive auras. Particularly you, Ed."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Your aura is gold… constantly changing and moving… strange, really, most people's auras are either blue or red, indicating their alignment."

"And me?" Alphonse asked.

"Silver… completely static. Very interesting… What brings you to Dantooine?"

"Looking for something," Edward said, simply.

"Looking for what?"

"…The Araim Crystal."

"You don't want to find it."

"Why not?"

"Anyone who finds it finds only misery."

"You're referring to the Dark Side."

"Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to Suffering."

"Stop being so goddamn cryptic!" Edward snarled.

"Why do you want it?" Mustang asked, unfazed by Edward's outburst.

"We're trying to draw out the Homunculi. They don't want us to find it, so we figured if we start actively searching for it, they'll try to stop us."

"Interesting idea. I sense, however, that there's another reason you want it."

"No… what makes you think that?"

"Ed, you're a good man, but I can feel your guilt about what you did to Al. It practically washes off of you. In waves. Tsunamis, even."

"The Araim Crystal uses living souls," Alphonse said. "I won't let Brother use it to restore me to my body. I couldn't live with myself if he did."

"Fair enough," Roy said, standing up.

"We're also looking to find out how and why the Homunculi were created," Edward stated.

"Hmm… I might be able to help you with that." He removed a datapad and stylus from his coat. "The man we've got assigned to the case is Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, head of Military Investigations. He's Tarisian—once a year he returns to Taris to pay his respects to those lost when the planet was destroyed by Malak. It's about that time of year." He handed the datapad to Edward, who looked over it with one raised eyebrow. "As for the Araim Crystal, it's not here, son I can't help you with that. Even so, I have a few words of advice for you: if you find it, destroy it."

Edward was silent for a moment. "Why did you join the Navy, Mustang?"

"Why? Revan asked me to keep an eye on her 'Favourite Flyboy', as she put it." At Edward's lost look, he added, "The Admiral. 'Flyboy' is her petname for him. Anyway, the easiest and least obvious way for me to do so was to pretend I had left the Order, join the Military, and request assignment on the _Sojourn._ Carth's on leave now, so I've got a break. I thought I would come here… It's rather nostalgic for me. I was trained here, and I met Revan for the first time here as well."

"What happened?"

"She was still amnesiac at the time, and the Council had just sent her on a mission to stop Malak. She had to find something called the Star Forge using incomplete maps she found on five worlds: Dantooine, Tattooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, and Korriban, which she visted in that order. I pulled her aside as she was about to leave for Tattooine; I'd listened in on her meetings with the Council, and something, I wasn't sure what, was telling me that they weren't telling her everything."

"What? Why wouldn't they have told her everything?"

"You don't understand… Revan's amnesia wasn't caused by Malak's betrayal, as we are led to believe. The Council did it to her. They wiped her memory and gave her a new identity. She sincerely believed she was a Scout-come-Jedi-Guardian named Adrian Summers, until Malak captured her and told her the truth. The Council should've told her that when she returned to Dantooine, but they lied to her and deceived her instead."

Edward remained silent, stunned by this news.

"At the time, I was unaware of the details of what was going on. I did, however, suspect that they were hiding something. So I pulled her aside and warned her that the Council was manipulating her and to watch her back. I felt like something was going to happen to her, and told her that good people like her don't deserve to be hurt by anyone. When she returned to Dantooine a couple of days later to return a little stowaway girl to her family, I slipped aboard her ship so I could join her; I didn't exactly have the Council's permission, but at the time I didn't care.

"When I found out later who she really was… I was… disgusted by the fact that the Council had violated her mind like that. Carth didn't trust her anymore… He had spent so much effort getting himself to trust her and then Malak ruined everything. I thought for sure that would be the end for those two."

"Huh?"

"They were quite obviously attracted to each other," Mustang said, grinning. "Everyone on the _Ebon Hawk_ thought so. Only Bastila and Juhani had apprehensions about the idea. At one point before the _Leviathan_ captured us I attempted to play matchmaker, without much success. I think we were on Kashyyyk at the time. Anyway, after we escaped from the _Leviathan_, _sans_ Bastila, who had been captured, I told Revan that I had lost my faith in the Jedi Order. I wanted to leave it. She asked me not to do so on her account. That's the only reason I'm still a member of the Order." He turned to Edward. "You should get going. You won't find your crystal here."

Edward nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly remembering something, he paused. "Hey, Roy."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For… for saving our lives at that warehouse."

"No problem," Mustang said, grinning.

* * *

"Brother," Alphonse muttered as they took off from Khoonda, "do you think it's true? What Colonel Mustang said about Revan?"

"I don't think he would lie about something like that," Edward sighed. "Force… the Council gave her amnesia? Why would they even consider such a thing?"

"It was war. War makes people desperate."

Edward stared out of the viewport. "She must've been… so depressed when she found out. I'm surprised she didn't leave the Order, fall back to the Dark Side… or worse, try to kill herself."

"Maybe she did try… to kill herself… but something kept her from doing it. Love, perhaps."

"Likely it was the Admiral. Mustang did say that he tried to get them together." Edward sighed. "I'll ask her about it later; best to hear it from the Ronto's mouth. Let's get going."

Alphonse nodded and made the jump to Hyperspace.


	15. Chapter 14: Origin

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 14: Origin**_

Taris was still a ruin when Edward and Alphonse arrived. They landed on a damaged walkway in the Upper City, gazing around sadly at the destruction.

"Horrible, isn't it?" A tenor voice said. Edward turned to see a young man with black hair and stubble, and green eyes covered in a pair of thin spectacles. He wore a loose violet shirt over black slacks.

Edward nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty bad. Did you have family here?"

"Sadly, yes," the man sighed. "A wife, Gracia, and a little girl, Elicia."

"I'm sorry… are you Lieutenant Colonel Hughes?"

"That I am. You look familiar somehow."

"Uh, yeah. I'm… Edward Elric."

"Ah. The smuggler! This must be Alphonse then." He shook their hands, smiling easily. "And I see by your lightsabers that you must've cleaned up and joined the Jedi, am I right?"

"Yeah."

"I have a good friend who's a Jedi."

"Roy Mustang?"

"Yep. He send you my way?"

"Yeah."

"Well, whaddya need?"

"Mustang said you were handling the investigation of the Homunculi."

"He would be right."

"We're trying to track something down in order to draw them out, but we also want to know how and why they were created."

"Ah… I believe them to be part of a plan to bring down the Republic from the inside."

"…How?"

"There would be two main objectives towards that goal: Destroy the Jedi Order, and infiltrate the government. The second part of that has probably already been accomplished. I wouldn't be surprised if they've managed to infiltrate the Chancellor's office."

"That's bad."

"Yeah, you said it. Also, I asked Revan and Malak about them. Revan didn't know too much about them, other than what she said she'd heard from you guys. Malak was a different story."

"What! He didn't make them, did he!"

"No, he didn't. However, he knows who did. He says a woman named Dante began the project as a means of augmenting the Sith war effort. She crafted some of the Homunculi based on the appearances of people she either knew personally or who were described to her. There are apparently seven of them. We have yet to encounter two."

"I've already killed one."

"Oh? Tell me which one, I'll cross it off my list."

"6R3-3D."

"Hmm. Greed. The two we have yet to encounter are 5L0-7H and PR1-D3, or 'Sloth' and 'Pride'. Also, about LU-57: I believe her appearance was based on that of a Mandalorian woman Dante killed during the Mandalorian War, along with the woman's husband. The brother-in-law is still alive, I think."

"My dad's already encountered 5L0-7H," Edward said. "He said she looks just like my mother."

Hughes looked surprised. "Really? What—"

A roar sounded, and Hughes whipped around to face a hideous, one-eyed monster. In an instant, it seemed, a five centimetre-long blade protruded from the beast's eye, and it topped to the ground. Hughes's arm was raised, and he had another throwing knife in his raised hand.

"Damn Rakghouls," he muttered. "I have no idea how they survived the bombing. They used to just be in the Undercity, but now they're up here as well." He slid the tiny knife back into his sleeve. "So, what does your mother look like, so I know what 5L0-7H looks like?"

"Brown hair to the small of her back, sea-green eyes. And she's right behind you."

"Huh?" Hughes turned around again only to be struck in the guy by a flying red lightsaber. The lightsaber boomeranged back to its owner, none other than the Homunculus 5L0-7H.

Hughes collapsed, his breathing shallow and uneven. Edward ran over to him.

"What the frack was that for!" He snarled, tears coming to his eyes as he stared down the pale imitation of Trisha Elric. "He did nothing to you!"

"He knew too much," 5L0-7H said, in a voice that sounded like Trisha's in every way, but with non of the emotion Edward was used to hearing in it. "If you continue this hunt, we will have to do the same to you."

Edward growled and rose to his feet, igniting his lightsabers.

"Brother!" Alphonse called.

"Al, she's not our mother," Edward said, advancing on 5L0-7H. "And frankly, this Homunculus's existence is an insult to our mother's memory." He lunged at 5L0-7H as she attempted to put him in stasis. He shrugged off the attack and, with one lightsaber, sliced off 5L0-7H's hands. She stood there, stunned for a moment, before Edward cut off her head.

Panting, Edward switched off his lightsabers. He ran back over to Hughes, who coughed weakly.

"It's gone deeper than I thought…" Hughes muttered. "…That was Juliet Douglas, the Chancellor's secretary… there's a chance…" Hughes coughed again. "…a chance that Bradley himself may be one of them."

"No… you don't deserve this… Al, get a medpack, we'll—"

"No," Hughes said, shaking his head. "I just… want to be with my family now… I … am sorry that I could no help you any more than I did." His eyes slid shut, and he lay still.

Edward shuddered. "Al…"

"Brother?"

"We have to get rid of these… these monsters."

"I know…"

"Let's go. Katarr next. I'll send Mustang a message, telling him what Hughes said about Bradley and 5L0-7H."

They boarded _Trisha's Curse_. Edward headed for their communications array and sent a message to Mustang.

"This is a message for Roy Mustang from Edward Elric… Hughes is dead. 5L0-7H killed him. The Homunculi were created by a woman named Dante… she's a Sith Lord. He also told me to tell you that 5L0-7H was Juliet Douglas, Chancellor Bradley's secretary and that it's very likely that Bradley is the last Homunculus, PR1-D3. 5L0-7H is dead. There are still five Homunculi and Dante left. With any luck, I'll find them on Katarr. Elric out."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the shortness. Next chapter should be longer.

Almost finished. :) –DJP


	16. Chapter 15: The Ashes of Katarr

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 15: The Ashes of Katarr**_

_"As my feet walk from the ashes of Katarr, I shall not fear, for in fear lies death."_  
-Visas Marr

"Brother," Alphonse said, just after they landed on Katarr, "we've got a message from Colonel Mustang."

"Play it."

"_This is Mustang. I've received your message. Thank you for informing me of Hughes's death. I will be sure he gets a proper burial on Taris, with his family. I will wait to confirm Hughes's suspicions about Bradley before I act on your information, however. Lieutenant Hawkeye and I will keep an eye on him for the time being—discretely, of course. I'm back on Coruscant again. Come see me when you're finished. Mustang out._"

Edward sighed. "We've still got another planet to check after we finish here."

"Two, Brother… we forgot to search Taris."

"….Dammit!"

"Let's get going. We need to get back as soon as possible."

Edward nodded. They left the ship and were greeted on the surface by a low chuckle.

"That took a while," a soft voice said. "It's been a few minutes since you landed."

A young woman sat atop a rock, dressed in a knee-length skirt, a burgundy top, and boots. Her hair was short and black, and an odd pendant hung from her next.

"And who might you me?" Edward asked.

"I have several names… you may call me Lyla."

"Well, Lyla… what brings you to Katarr?"

"I'd ask the same of you… what would two young Jedi such as yourselves want from a dead Miraluka world?"

"We're looking for something."

"The Araim Crystal?"

"How'd you know?"

"I'm looking for it too. It's not here, you know. I've searched high and low, all over this dead world, and I cannot find it."

Not sensing any deception from her, Edward let out a low curse. "Dammit… why do you want the crystal?"

"I have my reasons. Although… maybe it's not on a Sith-devastated world. Maybe it's hidden. Right… under… your… noses."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the Jedi are not all they seem. For some of them, there are past betrayals still raw after years… Raw enough that they become rather… over-zealous in their duties."

"You're talking about Master Atris."

"Indeed. She has been collecting artefacts of the both the Jedi and the Sith for several years now. She was on Katarr when the planet was devastated by the Dark Lord of Hunger. She may have discovered the Crystal just after it was formed."

"Are you saying Atris has it?"

"It would not surprise me if she did."

"Thanks for the info." Edward turned to leave.

"One last thing, young Elric."

Edward turned around again, eyes narrowed. _How did she know my name?_

"Why do you want the crystal?"

"…I have my reasons," Edward said, quietly. He and Alphonse boarded _Trisha's Curse_ and took off.

Lyla narrowed her eyes. "Wrong answer."

* * *

A quick sweep from the air of Taris, Telos, and Katarr, with Edward feeling for the Araim Crystal through the Force, confirmed that none of the worlds had the Crystal on them. Afterwards, they returned to Coruscant, sending a message ahead to Master Izumi.

Winry practically pounced Edward the moment he returned to the Jedi Temple. Startled by her enthusiastic greeting, Edward asked, "What's gotten into you?"

"I was worried… I worry about you two all the time…" Winry said, quietly.

"We can take care of ourselves, you know."

"I know, but…"

"How was your trip?" Izumi asked.

"…We didn't find it. But we do know where the Homunculi came from."

"Oh? Where?"

Edward relayed what Hughes had told him to her. Izumi frowned.

"What was the Star Forge, anyway? Roy Mustang mentioned it on Dantooine," Alphonse asked.

"The Star Forge? Revan and Malak used it to amass a fleet with which to challenge the Republic. As for the creator of the Homunculi… did you say her name was Dante?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"…Dante was my Master. She left for the Mandalorian Wars and later defected to the Sith. But unlike Hohenheim, she didn't turn back. I hadn't realized she was still alive."

"She's that old?"

"Jedi don't age very rapidly."

"Well, anyway, we killed only one other Homunculus," Edward said.

"Who?"

"5L0-7H."

"Ah. I figured it would be her."

"How's Dad?"

"He's recovered. He's a fast healer. For a Guardian."

"Good." Edward sighed.

"This news that the Chancellor may be on of the Homunculi is disturbing," Izumi said, quietly. "If it's true, then the Republic has been in grave danger ever since the end of the Jedi Civil War. He was elected shortly after the Sith withdrew their forces."

"I don't like any of this…" Edward muttered.

"Neither do I. Was there anything else?"

"On Katarr, I met a woman named Lyla. She suggested that Atris might have the Crystal."

"Atris!"

"Yeah… she said that Atris had been collecting Jedi and Sith artefacts for years, and that she was the most likely to have it."

"…Who was this Lyla?"

"I don't know, but I didn't sense any deception from her. Or the Dark Side."

"Dante was very good at masking her alignment and intentions. When I last saw her, I had no idea she'd fallen to the Dark Side."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Don't necessarily trust a stranger, even if you don't sense deception in their words. Now, I want you to find Atris and get the Crystal from her. It's dangerous in her hands."

Edward nodded. _I'll rip it from the hands of her corpse if I have to_. "Let's go, Al. Archives."

Alphonse rolled his eyes and followed Edward.

As Edward had guessed she would be, Atris was in the very back of the Archives, sorting through a pile of datapads.

"You've got it, haven't you?" Edward said, without preamble, as he approached her.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave, or I'll tell your Master you were in here again."

"She was the one who sent us here, actually."

Atris turned to face Edward, eyes narrowed.

"You have the Araim Crystal, don't you?" Edward repeated.

"No, I don't."

Edward glanced around, making shirt the Archives were empty, then lunged at Atris and pinned her to the wall with his right arm.

"You're a horrible liar, you know that?" He snarled. "You're also a hypocrite. I'll be blunt: give me that Crystal. NOW."

"It's an artefact… of the Dark Side! What could you possibly want with it!" Atris spat.

"The Homunculi are after it. I want to keep it safe from them. It's not safe in your hands. GIVE IT TO ME!"

"You're also a terrible liar! I sense your intentions! Your brother, is it? You want to make him human again!"

"And what's wrong with that, huh? What I did to him, I should never have done. I have to make it right!"

Atris laughed. "By the time you get your hand on the Crystal, you won't care about that anymore. It will corrupt you, take you to the same wretched place your accursed father went to. And good riddance!"

Edward slugged her across the face. "Shut up! You have no room to speak!"

"You've stated to fall already, Elric! I knew it was a mistake to train you!"

Edward hit her again. "SHUT UP!"

"Brother, stop it!" Alphonse pleaded.

"She deserves it!" Edward shouted. "This schutta has done nothing but sabotage our best efforts to live up to the Jedi's standards! She's prejudiced, and hypocritical, and she doesn't deserve her rank!"

"I know, Brother, but this is not the way to handle it!"

"At least your brother has restraint," Atris crowed. "But you were trouble from the start! You have no control, and you've even fallen in love!"

"There's nothing wrong with being in love," Edward hissed.

"Love leads to folly, and thus to the Dark Side," Atris returned, quietly.

"No, you stupid schutta… to love is to be human."

"I'm in love too," Alphonse added quietly. "With Mira. Your point is moot."

"I'll ask one more time," Edward said, dangerously quiet. "Give. Me. The. Crystal."

"If the Crystal is a danger in my hands, then it's even more of a danger in yours. You can't have it."

"I warned you," Edward snarled, the blade on his arm springing forth as he pressed the switch on his elbow with the Force. He drew his arm back, ready to strike at her!"

"Brother, stop!"

Edward froze.

"Look," Alphonse said, softly, pointing at a gap in the pile of datapads Atris had been sorting through.

Sitting there, stuck between two datapads, was a blood red crystal the size and shape of an egg. Edward let go of Atris and picked it up.

"Talk about hiding it in plain sight," he muttered. He pocketed it and turned to leave, but suddenly paused.

"Brother?"

Edward ignited his lightsaber, and, with a flick of his wrist, struck Atris across the torso.

An undefinable look crossed Alphonse's face as Atris fell to the ground, bleeding. Edward left. Alphonse lingered for a moment, dumbstruck, staring as Atris bled to death.

_Brother, what have you done…?

* * *

_

Roy Mustang met Edward and Alphonse in the Room of a Thousand Fountains with his second-in-command, Riza Hawkeye. Hawkeye had long blond hair pinned to the back of her head and red eyes. She had Mustang's grey coat draped over her arm and a pair of heavy blasters belted at her hip.

"What's up?" Edward asked when he saw Mustang.

"We've confirmed that Bradley is PR1-D3," Mustang said.

"That quickly?"

"Yeah. All it took was some digging into his security tapes. That would've been difficult, but thankfully, Master Sergeant Fuery, one of my subordinates, is a talented technician. We found a recording of him talking to 5L0-7H about the Homunculi's plans. She addressed him as 'Pride'."

"What're you going to do?"

"Depose him."

"But, you could get arrested for treason!"

"I don't care. He's evil, and he must be stopped." He turned away. "Hawkeye and I are going to go to the Chancellor's office now and take him down. This will probably be the last time I see this place. And you two. Take care of yourselves and each other. Let's go, Hawkeye."

"Yessir," Hawkeye responded, in a sharp voice. They left.

"This is it, Al," Edward muttered.

"What is?"

"We're going to take down the Homunculi. And I'll make you human again."

"But, Brother—"

"They're here."

Edward turned to face the group that had just entered. LU-57, 3N-VY, WR4-7H, and a fourth, very wide Homunculus stood at the entrance to the room.

At their head was Lyla.

"Hello Elric," she said. "Remember me?"

* * *

**A/N: **One more chapter and an Epilogue to go! -DJP 


	17. Chapter 16: The Bitter End

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Chapter 16: The Bitter End**_

_"Every step we take that's synchronized  
Every broken bone  
Reminds me of the second time  
That I followed you home  
You showered me with lullabies  
As you're walking away  
Reminds me that it's killing time  
On this fateful day_

_See you at the bitter end_"  
-"The Bitter End", Placebo

"Lyla…!" Edward exclaimed. "What's going on? What're you doing here?"

"I lied to you, Elric. My name isn't Lyla."

"…Master Izumi was right…" Edward muttered. "You're Dante."

"Correct. Oh, I've almost forgotten… You haven't met Gluttony yet, have you? Though I suppose his designation is 6LU7-70NY, but that's a bit long, isn't it?"

The wide Homunculus made a little noise, a huge grin plastering his face.

"Let's not make this difficult, alright? Give me the Araim Crystal," Dante said.

"Not in your wildest dreams," Edward snarled, igniting his lightsabers.

Dante laughed. "Want to play this the hard way, then? Okay, I can do that. Get him!" She commanded the Homunculi. Lightsabers ignited (all except Gluttony had one), and the four lunged. "A pity Pride couldn't be here," Dante commented, watching the fray with her own lightsaber at the ready, "but he's busy taking care of that pitiful Flame Colonel."

Edward scowled. "Roy…"

* * *

When Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye stepped into the Chancellor's office, the first thing they saw was PR1-D3, a.k.a. Chancellor Bradley, sitting at his desk and smiling pleasantly at them.

The second thing they noticed was the longsaber sitting on the desk beside his right hand.

"Colonel Mustang," PR1-D3 said, still smiling. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm afraid this isn't a social call, sir. You're under arrest."

"What for?"

"Your cover's been blown. We know you're one of the Homunculi."

"Do you have proof?" PR1-D3 asked, frowning.

"A security tape, showing you and the Homunculus known as 'Sloth' discussing a plan to take down the Republic. She addressed you quite clearly as 'Pride'." Mustang ignited his lightsaber. "If you come quietly, sir, I won't be forced to kill you."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. It is you who must die." The longsaber ignited and flew into PR1-D3's hand, and he lunged at Mustang, who parried the blow.

"Cover me, Hawkeye!" Mustang shouted, striking at PR1-D3.

Hawkeye instantly started shooting at PR1-D3. PR1-D3 parried Mustang's blow and retaliated, striking at Mustang's thigh. Mustang dodged and struck again, only to have his blow parried once more.

The fight continued in a similar vein for a few minutes. Finally, both paused, circling each other.

"I can predict your every move, Mustang," PR1-D3 said. "Give up now, and I'll let you live."

"Didn't I just propose the same thing to you?" Mustang panted, lunging again.

The fight continued, each managing to dodge and parry the other's blows. Finally, PR1-D3 became so frustrated that he lashed out at Mustang with Force Lightning.

Mustang met the attack with his lightsaber, face pulled into a grimace of concentration. Angry now, PR1-D3 launched a second attack, which Mustang blocked with his free hand.

What happened next would stay with Riza Hawkeye for the rest of her life.

The room abruptly heated up, causing Hawkeye to start sweating. Around Mustang, the air was so hot, it was glowing.

_No, wait_… Hawkeye thought. _It's on fire!_

Mustang's eyes glowed orange-yellow and he slowly lifted his shaking hand. With a short yell, the flames around him lanced out and struck PR1-D3, whose artificial skin and hair melted off upon contact. With an even more concentrated effort, Mustang drove his lightsaber into PR1-D3's chassis, the flames seeming to travel down the blade into PR1-D3's heart.

The former Chancellor collapsed. Mustang let his eyes slip shut and stopped blocking the lightning.

"ROY!" Hawkeye screamed, rushing over.

She was too late. The flames faded, the room cooled, and Mustang fell to the floor, dead.

* * *

Edward's lightsabers met with 3N-VY's, crackling loudly. The raven-haired Homunculus had a huge grin on his face.

"You never know when to give up, do ya, pipsqueak?" 3N-VY crowed. "We would've let you live if you'd given us the Crystal."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING PIPSQUEAK!"

3N-VY laughed. "Oh, I almost forgot about that Short-Man's Complex of yours. One last chance, pipsqueak, and then I'll get rid of you once and for all."

"I'll tell you what I told your Boss Lady: Not in your wildest dreams." He force 3N-VY's lightsaber to the side and landed a flying kick to the cyborg's gut.

Alphonse was busy fighting WR4-7H. LU-57 was ganging up on him; the only reason he was holding her off was because he was wielding his spare lightsabers with the Force.

Gluttony was advancing on Edward rapidly. Edward knocked 3N-VY on his back and whipped around, cutting him down before turning back to 3N-VY.

Izumi and Malak rushed into the room, having heard the sounds of lightsaber fighting, and engaged Dante in combat. But what really threw Edward off was when Scar literally leapt off the balcony and swung his lightsaber at LU-57 to distract her from Alphonse.

The colour of Scar's lightsaber had changed from red to blue.

Canderous rushed up to the edge of the balcony and started laying out cover fire. He gave Edward a wink and a thumbs up before continuing to cover for Scar.

"You're lucky you had back up, pipsqueak," 3N-VY said. "You won't be so lucky in a minute when I FRY YOUR ASS!" 3N-VY lunged at him, lightning crackling around his free hand. Edward narrowly dodged the blow, reaching into his pocket with his left hand and grasped the Araim Crystal, his mouth pulling into a snarl.

"You're the one whose ass is about to get fried," he growled, before unleashing a torrent of Force Lightning at 3N-VY.

Alphonse drove his lightsaber through WR4-7H's gut and turned to help Edward, leaving LU-57 to Scar. His eyes widened as he saw Edward using the Force Lightning, one hand tucked into the pocket he had hidden the Araim Crystal in.

"No," Alphonse breathed. "Brother!" He ran over to Edward as Scar finished off LU-57 and Izumi and Malak killed Dante. Scar turned to watch, a frown creasing his face as he eyed the brothers.

"Aren't you going to do anything!" Izumi demanded of Scar, Malak, and Canderous.

"This is between them," Scar told her. "They are brothers; only they can save each other."

Izumi frowned, her eyes tearing up as she watched.

Alphonse wrapped his arms around Edward's torso, only to be thrown into a distant wall by a powerful Force Wave. He stood, groaning.

"Ed!"

Edward paid no heed to the sound of his brother's voice. Lightning continued to lance from his fingertips, augmented by the Araim Crystal and the metal in his right arm. 3N-VY was screaming in whatever the cyborg equivalent of pain was. The experience was exhilarating for Edward, knowing that he could crush the cyborg with a mere thought. A sneer twisted his face as he increased the intensity of the lightning, searing off bits of 3N-VY's artificial flesh.

"Stop it, Brother! Stop it!"

Edward ignored Alphonse. His brother ran up and seized his arm.

"Ed! You're no better than he is! Stop it, Brother! Stop!"

The lightning faltered. A part of Edward realize what he had been doing and was sickened by it. Another part of him wanted to continue, and he fought that part tooth-and-nail. He felt Alphonse enter his mind to help him fight against the Dark Side, against the intoxication Edward felt from using the Force Lightning. Slowly, the lighting ceased, and Edward collapsed, almost in unison with 3N-VY, into his brother's arms.

* * *

Wakefulness slowly returned to Edward. Hushed voices reached him first; a woman's voice, a calm, tenor voice he didn't recognize, and Alphonse's voice. Next, he picked up the sterile smell of a hospital, the feeling of soft sheets covering his torso and an IV in his left elbow. Finally, he felt three auras: a vibrant aura of blue, green, and cyan, one seemingly of ice, and the last silvery and static. Life was all around him, faint, but present.

_Life… the Force_… he thought, dazedly.

_The Dark Side_.

Edward bolted upright, ripping the IV from his arm and staring around the room in a panic. Try as he might, he could not rid himself of the images from that day… the day he killed Atris, the day he defeated 3N-VY with the Force Lightning, and the thrill he had felt from both acts.

"Al? Al, where are you!"

"Brother?" Alphonse rushed over to him. "You're awake! You've been out for days! I thought…" He hugged Edward fiercely. "I thought I'd lost you…"

"I'm fine, Al…" Edward muttered. "Uh… exactly how long have I been out?"

"A standard week."

"Where are we?"

"The hospital near the Temple."

Edward glanced to his left and let out a startled hell as he spotted Scar, to whom the light tenor voice and icy aura had belonged. "What's he doing here!"

"It seems he switched sides," Alphonse said, quietly.

Edward stared at Scar. "…Why?"

"I followed your Colonel Mustang to the warehouse near the Temple with the intent of killing him and you," Scar explained. "I encountered the Homunculi inside and was grievously wounded in the fight. Mandalore found me. He helped me heal up and reminded me of what our culture teaches… Somewhere along the way, after my brother and his wife were killed by the Jedi Dante, I had forgotten… Mandalorians do not hate those who best them in combat. We learn from them."

"So… no more Jedi hunting?"

"No."

"That's a relief, I guess. …There's a new Mandalore? I thought Revan hid the armour."

"You will know him better as Canderous Ordo. He rescued you when I attacked you by your ship."

"…When did he become Mandalore?"

"At the end of the Jedi Civil War," the woman's voice said. Revan was seated on the window sill, her feet resting against one side of the window.

"Revan…" Edward said, quietly.

"Izumi was saddened and disappointed by your fall, Edward. Your father was too." Revan continued to stare out of the window.

"I—"

"What happened?"

"…I became obsessed with finding the Crystal, and, in the process, lost sight of the Order's ideals… and of my own," Edward said, quietly. "It's the honest truth…"

Revan nodded. For once, she looked completely and utterly serious.

"The Jedi aren't flawless," Scar noted.

"No, I know that," Edward said. "But I still believe in their ideals… some of them, anyway."

"Do you feel remorse?" Revan asked.

"Yes," Edward said, tears coming to his eyes. "Force, yes, I—" He stopped. "Master Atris is dead… isn't she?"

"Mere minutes after you struck her down. Her funeral was yesterday."

"Who gets her seat?"

"I'm hoping either Bastila or Juhani."

Edward was silent for a moment. "What… what happened to PR1-D3?"

He thought he saw a tear slide down Revan's cheek.

"What's wrong?"

"PR1-D3 is dead… but so is Roy."

Edward swallowed.

_"Hawkeye and I are going to go to the Chancellor's office now and take him down. This will probably be the last time I see this place. And you two. Take care of yourselves and each other…"_

"He knew…" Edward said, quietly, recalling the last words Mustang had said to him.

"Pardon?"

"He knew! Mustang knew he was going to die that night! He went into the Chancellor's office knowing he wouldn't come back out!" Edward hit the mattress. "Dammit!"

"Do you feel guilty about his death?"

"Yes! I should've stopped him, or gone with him, or… something!"

"It was his choice to make…" Revan muttered, crying visibly. "He was my friend… I travelled with him for over a year… I will miss him." She wiped away her tears. "Do you still have the Araim Crystal?"

"Yeah…" he reached to pick up his coat and drew out the Crystal.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"…I don't know anymore. I wanted to get Al's body back, and also my arm and leg, but…"

"You used it against 3N-VY, didn't you? Malak, Scar, and Izumi told me what happened." Her voice was neutral and unaccusing. Edward bowed his head. "What was it like?"

"It was… intoxicating. I couldn't stop myself…"

"Exactly. That… thing is evil. Where did you find it?"

"Master Atris had it. Dante hinted that it was formed on Katarr, though."

Revan blanched. "So. It was created from the souls of the Miralukas who perished there. Must be an especially powerful version of the Crystal."

"A whole planet of Miralukas…" Edward muttered, feeling numb. "This thing is evil…"

"Do you still want to use it?"

"No."

"Good. You don't need your original bodies anyway… Al can pass for human even if he really isn't and having prosthetic limbs isn't that big a deal. You both are used to being this way anyway, right?"

"Yeah… A few days ago, I would've given up everything I had to return to normal… now… it doesn't matter anymore…"

Revan smiled. "You've changed, Ed. And for the better, I think. This experience has been a lesson for you. Izumi will be proud to hear it."

Edward stared at the Araim Crystal in his hand, then mutely offered it to Revan.

"I don't want it," she said, shaking her head. "Destroy it. Unless you want to keep using it."

"I can't…" Edward shook his head as well. "I can't keep using it, especially after what happened when I fought 3N-VY."

Revan smiled. "Good. I'm glad you've made that choice."

Edward pooled his energy and focused on the Araim Crystal. After a few moments, the Crystal shattered, leaving behind a few droplets of blood-like liquid on his palm. Revan stood up.

"I'll see to it that the records of the Crystal are deleted," she said. "That way, no-one will learn of it, or go looking for it, again. You stay here and rest up, Scar, let's leave them in peace." They left. Edward laid back again, sighing.

"Brother?" Alphonse began.

"You're okay with this, right, Al?"

"With what?"

"With being a cyborg for the rest of your life."

"It doesn't matter that much to me. And like I said after we were captured by the _Sojourn_, it has its perks. I'm used to it by now." He laughed. "Hard to believe it's been a year, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I guess." Edward stared at the ceiling, and sighed. "Thank you for pulling me back."

Alphonse laid his hand on Edward's head. "You'd do the same for me, Brother. I know you would."

"Yeah, I know. But… thank you anyway."


	18. Epilogue: Fragile

_**A Wanderer's Destiny  
Epilogue: Fragile**_

_"If blood will flow  
When flesh and steel are one  
Drying in the colour  
Of the evening sun  
Tomorrow's rain  
Will wash the stains away  
But something in our minds will always stay  
Perhaps this final act was meant  
To clinch a lifetime's argument  
That nothing comes from violence  
And nothing ever could  
For all those born beneath an angry star  
Lest we forget how fragile we are_

_On and on the rain will fall  
Like tears from a star  
Like tears from a star  
On and on the rain will say  
How fragile we are  
How fragile we are"_  
-"Fragile", Sting

The sun was setting rapidly on Dantooine. Out in one of the fields near the old Jedi Enclave, soldiers and Jedi gathered.

Edward, Alphonse, and Hohenheim Elric stood among the Jedi massing on one side of the large funeral pyre that bore the body of Roy Mustang. Among the soldiers on the other side were Admiral Onasi and Roy's subordinates: Captain Riza Hawkeye (promoted after PR1-D3 was defeated), First Lieutenant Jean Havoc, Master Sergeant Cain Fuery, Major Alex Louis Armstrong, Warrant Officer Vato Falman, and First Lieutenant Heymans Breda.

Revan stepped forward. "We are here to remember Major General Roy Mustang, a Jedi Knight, and a distinguished member of the Republic Navy. He was killed fighting the Homnunculus PR1-D3, also known as Pride, who had infiltrated out government as Chancellor Bradley. His efforts were not in vain: PR1-D3, the rest of the Homunculi, and their Master, Dante, are dead, and a new Chancellor has risen in Bradley's place.

"Roy left this world the way he would've wanted to: fighting for what he believed in, what is good, and what is right. Remember what Roy has done for us, and may his soul rest forever in peace." She lifted a torch and lit the funeral pyre.

The soldiers present saluted and remained in that position as the pyre burned. Edward and Alphonse remained straight-backed as they watched. Neither showed any emotion on the outside, but inside, Edward seethed in anger at Dante for creating the Homunculi and thus taking the life of a man, who while arrogant and ambitious, did not deserve to die. He quietly suppressed his anger, remembering his training.

The funeral ended a few hours later. Edward and Alphonse walked towards the Enclave, where _Trisha's Curse_ stood waiting. Winry ran towards them, hugging Edward fiercely. Edward kissed her forehead and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"How was the funeral?" Winry asked, softly.

"Depressing."

"Of course. What do you plan on doing now?"

Edward stared off into the night sky. "…There's a ware coming. The True Sith are mounting an attack on the Jedi and the Republic."

"Are they going to make you guys fight?"

"Probably."

"Please be careful, Ed. I don't want to lose you guys."

"We will, Winry."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Edward continued to stare into the night sky, watching the stars and the streaks of ships taking off. A year ago he would've run from the war. Now, he was ready for whatever the True Sith had to throw at him.

**End.

* * *

**

_**Preview of "Indiscretions"**_

Hohenheim Elric let out a low curse as his head hit the top of the vent he and his two sons, Edward and Alphonse, were currently crawling through.

"How do you two manage this so often!" He hissed at them.

"Practice makes perfect, old man, and since you've had no practice, you're nowhere near perfect at vent crawling," Edward said, glancing behind himself and smirking at his father. He stopped by a grate, blowing his long bangs out of his golden eyes. He shrank back from the opening as a red-skinned Sith guard glanced up at the grate.

"What's wrong, Brother?" Alphonse asked, softly.

"There's a guard down there," He hissed. "I think we're close."

Alphonse nodded, turning back to Hohenheim. "Ready, Dad?"

"As I'll ever be," Hohenheim panted.

Edward grinned and kicked open the grate, dropping through it and grasping the edge. He swung forward and booted the Sith guard in the head with his left foot, knocking him unconscious. He dropped to the ground, closely followed by Alphonse. Hohenheim fell through moments later.

"You need to work on your landings, old man," Edward laughed, holding out his hand to help Hohenheim up. "Now come on—let's go rescue Master Izumi!"

* * *

**Final A/N: **When I was in my first Junior year of high school, I took a class called Rites of Passage. We studied various books in which the main character undergoes a radical psychological change or change in personality. Among our texts were _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_, "The Bear", _The Adventures of__Huckleberry Finn_, _Catcher in the Rye,_ _Ellen Foster_, and _The Woman Warrior._ My favourite of these was the last.

I suppose I never really had any appreciation for the Rite of Passage genre until I studied it in-depth in a paper for our teacher, Mara. Well, not so much a paper as a creative exercise. At the end of the year, we were to write our own Rite of Passage story. Mine was the longest in the class, because there was so much I wanted to include and I kinda got carried away. Mara didn't mind though, she said she enjoyed reading it immensely. The story itself may be found on my account (my penname is Kyuuketsuki Musume there), and on deviantART. It is called "World View", and was written in correlation with my original Manga "Legacy".

You might be wondering what this has to do with "A Wanderer's Destiny". Well, let me put it this way… When I started writing this story, I had only a vague idea of where I wanted it to go. On the 29th of November, 2005 (the same night I typed THIS monster of an A/N up), I was pondering how to end it and finally decided on the ending I have presented you with.

AWD has turned into, of all things, a Rite of Passage for Edward. He started off hating the Jedi, being disrespectful towards almost everyone he met, and overall extremely jaded and cynical.

And who can blame him? He lost his mother at age 13, his father was never around, and at age 17 he lost an arm and a leg and watched his brother die at the hands of a Dark Jedi.

But, in the end, he had changed. He was still jaded and cynical, but perhaps not as much as he was before. I hope I illustrated that change well.

So I must dedicate this story to Mara Nicastro, my Rites of Passage teacher in 2004-5. The class proved to be a valuable lesson in writing.

Also, to Damian (AKA Damos Taranth) and Amy (AKA Nadako-Mika): for introducing me to _Full Metal Alchemist. _I owe them many things. –hugs Damos & Nadako-

Thirdly, to my friend Peter: for many talks during Rites of Passage & US History in 2004-5, regarding Star Wars in general, and for recommending _Knights of the Old Republic_ to me. You got me addicted, Peter, I hope you're happy. Also, for being so funny and being one of the very few people who was annoyed by both Bastila and HK-47, which I still find amusing to this very day. (…What? He was!)

And lastly, to every one of my 54 watchers on and the… 68? Holy frack. 68 on deviantART, and to the people at KotORFanMedia who graced my story with their attention. You people make my day, really. Thank you.

I hope you have enjoyed this story. _Guten nacht!_

**:Dark Jedi Princess:**


End file.
